Taiwan slams Bolivia for quake solidarity with China

Taipei (AFP): Taiwan’s foreign minister lashed out at Bolivia Saturday for expressing solidarity with China following an earthquake that struck the island Beijing views as its own.

At least 10 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured by the magnitude 7.2 quake that struck Taiwan Wednesday, with strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness credited with averting a bigger 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.

Separately, the foreign ministry also condemned the Bolivian statement, saying it was “following the Chinese authoritarian government to spread false remarks internationally that belittle our country’s sovereignty”.

Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

Taiwan has just 12 diplomatic allies and accuses Beijing of using threats or promises of economic aid to prevent other countries from acknowledging it.