MOFA says it strongly believes Haiti unrest will not change Taiwan ties

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday that it strongly believes continued governmental instability in Haiti will not affect diplomatic ties with Port-au-Prince.

With Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who resigned last week following a deadly surge of gang violence, set to be replaced by a transitional council, MOFA's Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Cheng Li-cheng (鄭力城) said the ministry was "closely watching" developments.

However, given the cordial relations between Taiwan's embassy and Haitian groups from across the political spectrum, MOFA does not believe the incoming government will affect bilateral relations, Cheng said.

According to Cheng, six people representing various Haitian political coalitions will be on the transitional council proposed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a regional intergovernmental organization.

Political violence escalated in Haiti, one of 12 states to maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, as Henry was visiting Kenya.

The former prime minister had been attempting to garner support for the deployment of a United Nations-backed police force to tackle criminal gangs' increasing grip on power in Haiti.

Haitian gangs subsequently took control of much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and attacked key infrastructure, including two prisons where most of the 3,800 inmates escaped.

Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, the leader of an alliance of gangs that staged the attacks, has said the gangs would not allow Henry to return to Haiti and urged him to resign.

Henry resigned a week after his plane was forced to land in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico.

He had earlier been denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Despite the ongoing unrest, Cheng said Tuesday that Taiwan's embassy in Haiti remains open, and the 23 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti -- comprising embassy staff, technical mission members, businesspeople, and their families -- are safe.

Cheng said it would be safer for Taiwanese citizens to shelter in place given the risks of moving around Haiti at the moment.

Except for the U.S. airlifting non-essential embassy personnel from Haiti and the evacuation of the German ambassador and European Union diplomatic staff, all other countries with embassies in Haiti currently do not have immediate evacuation plans, Cheng said.

Cheng added that Taiwan's embassy in Haiti has since 2021 beefed up security, including hiring more private security guards and installing more advanced security systems.

Contingencies are ready in case a decision is finally made to evacuate citizens from Haiti, he said, but the time has yet to come.

MOFA has for the past several years issued its highest-level "red" travel alert for Haiti due to widespread crime and civil unrest.

Under the ministry's four-tier travel alert system, the lowest level is gray, followed by yellow, orange, and red. A red alert is the highest warning level and advises people to refrain from traveling to the country or region in question.

Taiwan's embassy in Port-au-Prince temporarily closed for several days in September 2022 due to a previous round of violent protests in Haiti.