The Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan rated, in a pronouncement this Monday, as “illegal occupation” the handover of the domain of its diplomatic headquarters in Managua to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that the Daniel Ortega regime made through a pronouncement by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The appropriation of the building from Taiwan became official on the night of Sunday, December 26, after press versions were released about Taiwan’s intention to donate the diplomatic offices to the Archdiocese of Managua of the Catholic Church. The religious institution has criticized the Nicaraguan Executive for human rights violations committed against the population, especially since 2018, and last November’s votes on which they denounced the lack of conditions for holding democratic elections.
“The Government of Taiwan cannot accept and strongly protests the illegal occupation of its property and its illegal transfer to the People’s Republic of China,” says the statement in which it names the Ortega Government as a “dictatorial regime”, whose actions it qualifies as illegal. and as an obstruction to the “token sale” (that is, the donation) to the Catholic Church of Nicaragua, signed on December 22 by both parties and notarized by local attorneys.
He also recalls that it is a sovereign and independent nation and Nicaragua tells him that, in accordance with Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, it has the obligation to protect its facilities, along with its property and files.
“Faced with the joint repression against democratic Taiwan and the Catholic Church, by the dictatorial regime of President Ortega and the totalitarian Government of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates that Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China and that the China’s Communist Party regime has no right to interfere in Taiwan’s foreign affairs or inherit Taiwan’s state property. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges the international community to jointly condemn such malicious actions by the Governments of Nicaragua and China, and requests that all sectors help the Catholic Church in Nicaragua to fight for their rights, so that the property of the former embassy can be registered and transferred to the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, ”the statement said.
A diplomatic expert, consulted by CONFIDENTIAL, said that, although he knows no precedents on the behavior of the host states when they conclude their relations with Taiwan, it seems clear to him “that the People’s Republic of China does not own the goods of Taiwan, an outgoing mission that would have the right to liquidate their assets and assets in an orderly manner, because even in the event of a declaration of war, they have the obligation to protect and respect these assets ”.
During the rupture of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, under the Government of Oscar Arias in Costa Rica (2007) and in El Salvador (2017) under the Government of Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the Central American governments that joined China Popular did not confiscate the assets of the State of Taiwan, as the Ortega regime claims, but they respected Taipei’s right to liquidate its assets.
Adherence to RPCh
Ortega decided to recognize Popular China on December 10, leaving aside Taiwan, his most generous donor, who increased his economic support, while keeping silent about the human rights abuses committed internally by the Sandinista dictator, which did they are questioned by a large part of the international community.
Precisely, in the face of isolation, Ortega recognizes China and approaches Russia, under Vladimir Putin, which in the opinion of analysts leaves Nicaragua in a fragile situation in world geopolitics.
On the other hand, the farewell to Taiwan has been marked by a lack of diplomatic courtesy and abuse on the part of the Nicaraguan regime, which even gave a period of two weeks for the withdrawal of embassy staff in Nicaragua, which Taiwan described as “Not in accordance with international practice and ignores the provisions of international law.”
“Following the unilateral termination of diplomatic relations with Taiwan on December 10, the Nicaraguan Government violated international practice by requiring that all Taiwanese diplomats and personnel be removed from Nicaragua by December 23. In these difficult circumstances and extreme time constraints, the Embassy of the ROC (Taiwan), duly responsible for handling the property of the Government of Taiwan abroad, symbolically sold its offices to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Managua for the purpose to serve the public interest ”, explained the diplomats.
The Attorney General’s version: they defend “other people’s property”
The Nicaraguan PGR statement surprised Sunday night, but in the document it made it clear that, according to this institution controlled by the current regime, the recognition of China Popular implied the registration of all real estate, equipment and media in favor of the State that Nicaragua recognizes.
“Therefore, and according to our legislation, there is no room for transactions, transfers or transfers (among these supposed donations), whose intention only shows the illegal and voracious nature of those who, with maneuvers, and subterfuges, try to appropriate what is foreign”, accused the PGR, who warned that entities that insist on claims will be exposed to “the corresponding courts and legal actions.”
So far, the Catholic Church in Managua as an institution has not ruled on the obstructed donation from Taiwan. It was also not possible to obtain the version of the archbishop, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, who was not at his residence this morning.
