Taiwan names new ambassador to Paraguay

Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's government approved the appointment of Ivan Lee (李岳融), the country's representative to Mexico, as its new ambassador to Paraguay on Tuesday.

Lee, who took up his post in Mexico earlier in the year, will replace the current ambassador Jose Han (韓志正), who is heading back to Taipei to serve as chief of MOFA's Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs.

Before serving in Mexico, Lee was MOFA's chief liaison officer to the Legislative Yuan, and he was briefly the ambassador to Nicaragua before that country cut off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in late 2021.

Han, meanwhile, has headed the Taiwan embassy in Paraguay, its only formal South American ally, since May 2020.

Han will replace the incumbent head of MOFA's Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, Cheng Li-cheng (鄭力城), who has served in that post since February 2023.

Cheng will be heading to Spain to serve as Taiwan's top representative to Madrid, a post that has been vacant since July 2024, after the departure of Vivia Chang (張俊菲), who later became Taiwan's ambassador to Guatemala.

Taiwan (formally known as the Republic of China) has formal diplomatic ties with 12 countries around the world. The only Spanish speaking allies are Paraguay in South America and Guatemala in Central America.