PANAMA HAS SOUND ECONOMIC REASONS FOR SWITCH|拚經濟向中國示好 巴拿馬與台斷交

Panamanian economist says severing ties with Taiwan was only a matter of time, and for very pragmatic reasons. In fact, former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli already tried to sever relations with Taiwan in the past, but at that time was advised by China not to do so. On June 13, Panama announced it would sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and change its diplomatic ties to China. Panamanian officials revealed that they and Chinese representatives had closed-door meetings a month ago. Panama has not asked for aid with any infrastructure projects, but China is already a major investor in Panama. China agreed to accommodate the 80 students who are currently studying at universities in Taiwan. Panama's former foreign relations minister said, Taiwan is a product of the Cold War from 1949, it is unsustainable for Panama to recognize Taiwan as a true representative of China. A Panamanian government spokesman admits the move was made to boost Panama's economy. ==JUAN JOVANE Economist== China right now is the economic powerhouse of the world and to have diplomatic relations with it, gives the country more flexibility in many ways, not just for those who wish to do business. Panama had wanted to terminate diplomatic relations with Taiwan many years ago. According to WikiLeaks, Panama President Ricardo Martinelli had wanted to establish ties with Beijing since he was elected in 2009. However, Beijing had no intention to sabotage cross-strait relations at that time and declined the diplomatic deal in 2010. TRANSLATED BY: ANTHONY LIN 我國最大邦交國巴拿馬，13號無預警和台灣斷交，震驚國際社會，巴國學者指出，巴國為了發展經濟，和台灣斷交是遲早的事。另一方面，因政治間諜指控在美國被捕的巴國前總統馬丁內利，任內就曾意圖與台灣斷交，但遭中方拒絕。 巴拿馬13號無預警與台灣斷交，舉國震驚，巴拿馬官員透露，中巴建交一個月前便開始密商，巴國並未要求中方協助任何基礎建設，不過中國已是巴拿馬的投資大國，中方同意解決約八十名在台灣大學就讀的巴國留學生去留問題。巴國前外交部長指出，台灣是1949年冷戰後的產物，巴方無法永續承認台灣這個小島代表中國。巴國政府發言人坦承，巴國這麼做，是為了經濟利益。 ==巴國經濟學家 喬凡== 跟中國這個世界經濟強權建交 可以促進國家與全球多元彈性交往 不只是想作生意 事實上巴國想跟台灣斷交，多年前便已開始醞釀，根據維基解密的資訊顯示，馬丁內利2009年當選後就想拉攏與北京的關係，但北京無意破壞當時改善中的兩岸關係，因此在2010年在雙方會談中予以拒絕。 記者 曾惠敏 報導