Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen expressed her gratitude to Paraguay president-elect Santiago Pena during phone talks Friday for his firm stance on maintaining ties, days after his victory in a race that called into question the Latin American country's diplomatic recognition of Taipei.
Tsai wrote in a recent tweet she looks forward to working with Pena to "advance our bilateral cooperation" and "the well-being of our peoples." Paraguay is one of only 13 countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead of Beijing.
Pena, a former finance minister, will begin his five-year term on Aug. 15. In the presidential election last Sunday, he beat Efrain Alegre, who had called for a switch in diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a potential market for Paraguay's beef and soybeans, according to local media reports.
On Paraguay's relations with Taiwan, Pena tweeted Tuesday, "We will continue to strengthen our historical ties of brotherhood and cooperation."
China and Taiwan have been separately governed since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
In March, Honduras became the ninth country to end diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing since Tsai of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016. Critics say China has extended significant investment and financial aid to those countries.
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