Taiwan on Friday blamed Chinese bullying for Guyana’s decision to revoke a deal for the island to open a representative office in the South American country, saying it had tried without success to get Guyana to change its mind.
Taiwan had already begun initial operations at the office, in effect a de facto embassy, last month. It had been welcomed by Washington and condemned by Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said that because of Chinese pressure Guyana had unilaterally decided to back out of the deal, and Taiwan expressed deep regret it was unable to get the decision reversed.
The ministry said they express their strongest dissatisfaction and condemnation of the Chinese government once again bullying and compressing Taiwan’s international space and Taiwan’s participation in international affairs.
It added that China’s continued efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international arena runs counter to declarations by its leaders that it is against bullying and that no one with thick arms and big fists has the final say.