Palau's so-called ties with Taiwan line pockets of a few: foreign ministry

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- For certain countries like Palau, having Taiwan as a "diplomatic ally" is not about delivering for the country and the people, but to line the pockets of the very few people who profit from it, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing on Monday.

Mao made the remarks in response to a query on the recent reports that Taiwan increased its annual aid to Palau from 18 million U.S. dollars last year to 25 million U.S. dollars this year, and it also allocated nearly 281,000 U.S. dollars in direct cash gifts for Palau's former president, incumbent political figures, and individual lawmakers.

The report is yet another example of the Lai Ching-te authorities' expensive dollar diplomacy using the hard-earned money of the people in Taiwan, which is a combination of corruption, fraudulence, bribery and power-for-money deals, to serve "Taiwan independence" separatism and their personal political agenda, Mao said.