On Thursday, December 5th, Paraguay expelled a Chinese Communist Party envoy on suspicion of interfering in Paraguay’s internal affairs, urging Paraguay to sever ties with Taiwan and their longstanding friendship. The Chinese diplomat was asked to leave the country within 24 hours.
According to the Associated Press, the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a brief statement announcing the revocation of the visa of Chinese envoy Xu Wei, who was in Paraguay to attend the UNESCO annual meeting. Paraguay declared him an unwelcome person due to “interference in internal affairs.”
Xu Wei holds the title of Counsellor in the Latin American Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The day before, Xu Wei skipped the UNESCO meeting and instead appeared at the National Congress building in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, where he urged Paraguay to abandon Taiwan, causing a diplomatic stir.
Paraguay is the only South American country that recognizes Taiwan and is one of twelve countries worldwide that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Despite continuous pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, the Paraguayan government has consistently upheld its commitment to Taiwan.
The futuristic National Congress building in Asuncion was constructed with funding from Taiwan. Xu Wei emphasized in the building’s lobby that Beijing is willing to establish relations with Paraguay, but suggested that Paraguayan officials take the first step.
“It’s either (Communist) China or Taiwan,” he said. “I recommend the Paraguayan government make the correct decision promptly.”
The Taiwanese Embassy in Paraguay criticized the Chinese Communist Party on social media platform X, stating that Xu Wei “infiltrated Paraguay with unknown motives, attempting to undermine the strong friendship between Paraguay and Taiwan.”
The Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Xu Wei violated visa terms by engaging in inappropriate internal political activities after traveling to Paraguay as a member of the Chinese delegation attending the UNESCO meeting.
“This gentleman had a parallel agenda, coming to engage in inappropriate internal politics,” said Juan Baiardi, the Deputy Minister of Administrative and Technical Affairs at the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xu Wei was asked to leave Paraguay within 24 hours.
On November 29th, Paraguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ruben Dario Ramirez Lezcano, stated during a visit to Taiwan that Paraguay is willing to unconditionally establish diplomatic, consular, or commercial relations with China (the Chinese Communist Party), and therefore will not accept any conditions that would harm Paraguay’s relationship with Taiwan.
Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, who took office last year, has repeatedly expressed unwavering support for Taiwan. As China continues to court Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies has decreased.
In recent years, four Latin American countries, Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, have severed ties with Taiwan and established relations with Beijing. The principle of “One China” from Beijing has pressured other countries to choose between establishing full diplomatic relations with either the Communist China or Taiwan.