On Saturday, Taiwan’s foreign minister denounced Bolivia for allegedly siding with China following an earthquake that shook the island that Beijing claims as its own.
At least 10 people were killed and over 1,100 injured in Wednesday’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Taiwan; extensive disaster planning and strict construction regulations are credited with averting a more serious catastrophe.
On Friday, Bolivia’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying the country “expresses its solidarity with the sister People’s Republic of China, in the face of the loss of life and severe material damage caused by a large earthquake that occurred in recent hours off the coast of Taiwan”.
“You shouldn’t be the evil, expansionist PRC’s pathetic puppet that jumps when Beijing says jump,” said a post on X Saturday by Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
“Just like Taiwan, Bolivia is NOT part of communist China. No more, no less,” he added.
The Bolivian statement was denounced separately by the foreign ministry, which said that Bolivia was “following the Chinese authoritarian government to spread false remarks internationally that belittle our country’s sovereignty.”
Beijing has consistently asserted that it will use force to annex democratic Taiwan and maintains its territorial claims to the island nation.
Taiwan asserts that Beijing, which has just twelve diplomatic allies, uses threats or promises of economic assistance to prevent other countries from recognizing it.
