By Daniela Desantis
ASUNCION (Reuters) -Paraguay has canceled the visa of a low-level Chinese diplomat Xu Wei over alleged “interference in domestic affairs” and ordered him to leave the country within 24 hours, the Latin American nation’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Paraguay’s ministry didn’t specify what Xu’s interference had been, but the Taiwanese embassy in Paraguay in a statement accused the envoy of trying to undermine the relationship between Paraguay and Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
“He infiltrated Paraguay with an unknown purpose, to undermine the firm friendship between Paraguay and Taiwan,” the Taiwanese embassy posted on X.
Local media reported that Xu had visited Congress with two Paraguayan opposition lawmakers, where he had urged Paraguay to recognize China over Taiwan, and said that the choice would benefit the soy-producing nation.
Paraguay’s long-standing diplomatic support for Taiwan has held back local farmers’ grains exports to China. Paraguay is the only South American country remaining with formal relations with Taiwan.
China considers democratically-governed Taiwan its own territory without any right to the trappings of a state. Taipei rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
Paraguay’s foreign ministry said that Xu had come to Paraguay as part of a Chinese group for a UNESCO meeting, but had violated the limits of his visa.
“This gentleman had a parallel agenda, he came to do internal politics that were not appropriate,” said Juan Baiardi, Deputy Minister of Administration and Technical Affairs of the Foreign Ministry.
