MOFA to explain aid to Costa Rica: FM

Foreign minister Tan San Chen yesterday noted that his ministry will formally give an explanation to the Costa Rican government — at the request of San Jose — on Taiwan’s aid to the Central American nation, including the stint of former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez.

Foreign affairs officials yesterday also confirmed that the government has offered economic aid to Costa Rica but there has never been any aid given as political contributions. They declined to disclose the amount of the economic aid.

Chen reiterated that all foreign aid that Taiwan offers is implemented in accordance with plans and is under the supervision of the Legislative Yuan.

Chen was referring to allegations that Taiwan had conducted dollar diplomacy under the guise of foreign aid to Costa Rica.

“There were absolutely no political contributions to Costa Rica,” Chen stressed.

Chen made the remarks when he was campaigning for Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Lin Chung-mo.

Rodriguez has been detained for allegedly taking huge kickbacks from Alcatel, a French telecom company. The Costa Rican government is also reportedly investigating allegations that Rodriguez received political donations from Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Vice Foreign Minister Michael Ying-mao Kau said that all foreign aid programs initiated by MOFA have been conducted in accordance with a set standard operating procedure (SOP) under strict supervision of the Legislative Yuan.

However, he added, the exact amounts of cash aid to countries varied and have been kept confidential to avoid diplomatic faux pas, as well as jealousy by other receiving countries.

Kau said that MOFA will present explanations on Taiwan’s cash aid to Costa Rica.

In San Jose, a judge on Saturday ordered Rodriguez placed under house arrest for six months while Costa Rican prosecutors prepare corruption charges against him.

Rodriguez was in police custody, but suffered a medical emergency related to high blood pressure and was taken to a nearby clinic.

The Catholic Clinic in San Jose, the capital, confirmed that Rodriguez became ill while answering prosecutors’ questions and was admitted for treatment of high blood pressure. It was unclear how long he would stay hospitalized.

Hours later, Judge Carlos Jouel Sanchez ordered that as soon as he was well enough, he be placed under house arrest in San Jose. Why the judge opted for house-arrest as opposed to a stint in prison was unclear, however.

Rodriguez resigned as the president of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Oct. 8 after investigators in his home country said they were looking into allegations he had shared in commissions on government contracts granted to Alcatel of France. He had served as OAS president for only two weeks.

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Rodriguez, who served as Costa Rica’s president from 1998 until 2002, returned to this country on Friday and was immediately detained on charges of illegal enrichment, bribery and aggravated corruption. He pleaded innocent to all charges while being questioned, and later fainted briefly.

Jose Antonio Lobo, a former director of Costa Rica’s power and telephone company, has testified that he had accepted a US$2.4 million “prize” on a US$149 million cellular telephone contract that went to Alcatel in 2001, the year before Rodriguez left office.

Lobo said Rodriguez had asked for a majority of that money and had in fact received US$510,000. Rodriguez acknowledged receiving US$140,000 from Lobo, but said it was merely a loan to finance his campaign for the OAS leadership.

Investigators are also looking into alleged payments by the government of Taiwan to accounts controlled by Rodriguez.

The local representative for Alcatel, Edgar Valverde, was placed under precautionary detention on Thursday after acknowledging he had made payments to government officials. Alcatel said it had fired him for violating of its code of ethics.

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