China stopped tourists after I refused to betray Taiwan, says Palau president.
The message from the government official was simple: endorse China or face the consequences.
Mr Whipps was only a candidate for the presidency at the time and was told to immediately sever Palau’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan if he won.
Failure to switch his nation’s recognition to Beijing, the ambassador stressed, could mean the tens of thousands of Chinese tourists, who were bringing much-needed revenue into Palau’s tourism sector, going somewhere else.
“His words were, ‘You’re a businessman, you understand the potential of the Chinese market, how many tourists you can have’,” Mr Whipps
“I let him know that we were keen to have visitors from everywhere and that we are friends to everyone, but the conversation quickly turned to him saying that Palau needs to join the rest of the world by stopping ‘illegal activities’ by recognising Taiwan,” he said.
The message from the government official was simple: endorse China or face the consequences.
Mr Whipps was only a candidate for the presidency at the time and was told to immediately sever Palau’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan if he won.
Failure to switch his nation’s recognition to Beijing, the ambassador stressed, could mean the tens of thousands of Chinese tourists, who were bringing much-needed revenue into Palau’s tourism sector, going somewhere else.
“His words were, ‘You’re a businessman, you understand the potential of the Chinese market, how many tourists you can have’,” Mr Whipps
“I let him know that we were keen to have visitors from everywhere and that we are friends to everyone, but the conversation quickly turned to him saying that Palau needs to join the rest of the world by stopping ‘illegal activities’ by recognising Taiwan,” he said.
21 hours ago
