‘Faithful Friend’
FOR TAIWAN’S AMBASSADOR MICHAEL LIN, ST KITTS AND NEVIS is a “faithful friend and partner” since they yoked diplomatically when Basseterre gained political independence from Britain in 1983.
The bond has been made incrementally stronger throughout the ruby relationship, and Taipei wants it further fortified.
As a “faithful friend and partner to Taiwan,” the Taiwanese ambassador Lin told www.sknnewssource.com in an exclusive his country “truly value the excellent relationship” in the Caribbean twin-island Federation he called “home away from home.”
“I do really enjoy working here in St Kitts and Nevis because this country is the strongest country in its ally to Taiwan since its independence. We enjoy the very strong relationship and cultural cooperation with the Federation so my job here is to continue promoting our cordial relationship,” Ambassador Lin said.
Fresh administrations haven’t altered the diplomatic nuptial over the four decades either, Lin admitted.
“Although there have been several changes of government, I really enjoy working with the government as the relationship continues. We have seen that the relationship has even strengthened further and this is not only government-to-government, but people to people as we experience exchanges of cultures and expertise which have been further strengthened over the years,” Lin reminisced.
He said last year was extremely fruitful, diplomatically with Basseterre for his embassy and Asian country.
For Lin, despite the triumph of Prime Minister Terrance Drew’s St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) government at the August 5th polls, the “excellent relationship” is maintained.
He commended the maturity of political party groupings, and citizens and residents, observing for the past 40 years the diplomatic relationship between the two sides was “never threatened and/or affected.”
“Each country has different situations. Within the region we have St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Belize, Haiti and St Kitts and Nevis and each country has their own internal politics and differences. However, here in St Kitts and Nevis it’s very unique, because both sides, whether in government or in opposition, they are both supportive of the relationship with Taiwan regardless of which party is in government.”
“In the last 40 years we have witness the change of government several times from PAM (People’s Action Movement) to Labour then to Team Unity then back to Labour, we can still see that the support from both sides is still the same,” he disclosed.
The Ambassador continued, “We also see that PM Drew led a delegation to Taiwan and it is the very first time that the Premier of Nevis was included also the opposition in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) assembly and as the leader of the federal parliament he himself played a role. So, you can see from this combination from PM Drew’s delegation, that it comes from both sides of the political aisle. He can really demonstrate the support of both sides to the strong relationship is here for Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s significant support continues to be provided in the area of training and scholarship opportunities for citizens. Taipei, Lin said, has been providing scholarship support since 2008, adding that to date over 150 scholarships have been given by the embassy.
“It is almost 15 years since and in 2022 we provided several scholarships in the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the ICDF scholarships. These are two different types of scholarships. Already scholarships application for this year has been open and I urge persons to visit the embassy’s website to garner additional information on how to apply for these scholarships. This year the MOFA scholarship will award 10 persons and the ICDF is open for competition,” he explained.
Ambassador Lin stressed that those with better academic performances of GDPs 3.5 are being encouraged to apply for the ICDF (International Cooperation and Development Fund) scholarships. He said for last year seven persons were awarded MOFA scholarships while they were four for the ICDF.
“As this is being taken in English, resulting in them not having to learn Mandarin in the first year,” he explained
He is pleased with the joint effort in the field of learning.
“Most of the graduates return to the federation to contribute their skills and expertise. (However), some stay in Taiwan and some even marry Taiwanese and lead their families there and opt to become English teachers. We encourage the students to return so that they can work for their government here.”
“The current (St Kitts and Nevis) ambassador there was a graduate, completing his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Taiwan before returning to teach at the Basseterre High School, before being appointed as ambassador to Taiwan,” Lin detailed.
The new ambassador to Taiwan’s knowledge and experience from studying there, makes him an ideal person to help further bridge the relationship between both countries.
“He would be able to better take care of the nationals in Taiwan as currently there are some 60 students studying there, while there are some that have been there for six to 10 years. They are in the areas of Civil Engineering, Business Management, Agriculture, Horticulture, ICT (information and communications technology) among other fields,” Ambassador Lin noted.
