Taiwan buys Washington lobbyist for ally — RT World News

Taiwan spent some $900,000 on a lobbying marketing campaign for its ally Guatemala in a bid to enhance the county’s ties with the US.

Taiwan has shelled out a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} for a lobbying marketing campaign aiming to assist Guatemala strengthen relations with the US, weeks after one other Central American state broke ties with Taipei in favor of China.

A contract value $900,000 was just lately paid for by the Taiwanese authorities, officers in Guatemala stated on Monday, thanking the island for “assist that may permit us to boost the nation’s place in the US.”

The deal was struck with an American PR agency, Ballard Companions, and includes lobbying “associated to the US authorities, together with interactions with United States authorities officers,” based on public filings cited by Reuters.

Although Taipei has but to touch upon the settlement publicly, the transfer comes slightly greater than a month after Nicaragua ditched relations with Taiwan and re-established diplomatic ties with China, triggering a pointy condemnation from officers on the island. Nicaragua was amongst only a handful of states that acknowledge Taiwan as a sovereign nation, as Beijing has lengthy thought of it a part of its personal territory.

In Honduras, Guatemala’s next-door neighbor, incoming President Xiomara Castro beforehand voiced plans to step up the nation’s relationship with China, although she has since backed away from that concept, as a substitute saying she want to enhance ties with the US.