The confiscation of the Taiwanese embassy is ‘illegal, humiliating and shameful’

the The seizure of the Taiwanese diplomatic headquarters in Managua, carried out by the Nicaraguan executive to extradite it to mainland China, has been categorized as “expropriated, illegal, aggressive and shameful”, by experts in international law.

Carlos Humberto Cascante Segura, a professor at the University of Costa Rica’s School of Political Science, called this decision illegal and explained that in such cases, a mode of transmission is given, whereby Taiwan must be allowed to “administrative order-financial matters, both on the goods and on the local staff who have been appoint them.”

According to Cascante, this was exactly what was done in his country in 2007, when the government of Oscar Arias recognized mainland China, which in these cases corresponds to the rules of law.

“The correct thing is that officials in Taiwan are disposing of it (investments and other assets), following the instructions of their government, whether they sell it, donate it or any other possibility,” Cascante said.

This Sunday, December 26, through a press release from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic (PGR), the government of Daniel Ortega informed about the decision to hand over the property to the People’s Republic of China, He admitted it on December 9th, which caused Taiwan’s protest He denounced illegality and called the “dictatorship of the Managua regime”.

This perversion of Taiwan’s discourse, which has been questioned for being the giver More Generous With Ortega Despite complaints of massive human rights abuses against Nicaraguans, it’s a predictable stance, says Cascante, who explains that the Asian nation’s narrative was based on a comparison of the democracy they represented against the tyranny of the People’s Republic.

“They are very pragmatic in this. As long as the relationship with Managua is maintained, they will not express this concept”, added the Costa Rican expert.

The Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, in its statement on Monday, denounced that the Ortega regime’s seizure of real estate impeded the “symbolic sale” (donation) it made to the Archdiocese of Managua, which was agreed by the two parties on December 22 and documented by lawyers local.

Among the details Taiwan released about the deal, in your account Twitter On Monday, December 27, they sold their old offices in Managua for one dollar to the Archdiocese of Managua. After Ortega’s regime ordered Taiwan to leave Nicaragua before Christmas, we sold the embassy to the Diocese of Managua. This charitable act was our goodwill to the people. But Ortega He has taken possession of the property and will show it to #PRC. This is completely illegal and disgusting.”The signed tweet at the end reads with the initials JW, meaning it was written by Foreign Minister Josh Joseph Wu.

After the order of the Ortega system # Taiwan out of place #Nicaragua Before #birthdayWe sold the embassy to the Archdiocese of Managua for one dollar. This charitable act was our goodwill to the people. But Ortega has seized the property and is going to gift it to #People’s republic of China. This is completely illegal and disgusting. JW https://t.co/vVo1Ks5ZkQ pic.twitter.com/wY5cGSBuzM

– Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (MOFA_Taiwan) December 28, 2021

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has not declared itself as an institution yet after the government’s decision to prevent donation. According to its approach, Taipei called the approach of the People’s Republic of China and Nicaragua “malign acts”, while denouncing the unusual 13-day deadline set by Ortega, with a maximum of December 23, for embassy staff to meet to withdraw from the country.

Violating actions: confiscation step by step

A former Nicaraguan diplomat, who was consulted on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, explained that Ortega’s decision was to confiscate assets that could be claimed by China Popular, “but it is not the responsibility of the Nicaraguan government to allocate or allocate one-third.”

This expert explained that when agreeing on a diplomatic rupture, it is usual to agree on precautionary periods to resolve outstanding issues and a third country can also be sought to take over Taiwan affairs, as stipulated in Article 45 of the Vienna Convention, which governs the relationship between the two countries as a practical rule.

According to this rule, Nicaragua is obligated to protect the assets of the mission premises, even in the event of an armed conflict, and has also been able to establish custody of the mission premises to a third country acceptable to Taiwan, the same protection afforded by the protection. their interests and the interests of their fellow citizens, which was not the case in this case.

“The way in which the Ortega regime has dealt with Taiwan, with regard to the assets and interests of its diplomatic mission, is also offensive and shameful, and is not permitted even in the event of armed conflict, as recognized in the Vienna Convention. This latter decision clearly had an impact on The dictatorship’s desire to prevent the property of the diplomatic mission (Taiwan) from moving to the Archdiocese of Managua, in retaliation for the positions held by the Catholic Church. In the face of the serious political crisis that the country has been going through since April 2018, “the Nicaraguan expert explained.

Torrijos’ ex-adviser backs Ortega’s decision

For international analyst Julio Yao, former advisor to General Omar Torrijos in Panama and former agent for Panama before the International Court of Justice, Taiwan’s assets have been respected in countries that have been recognized in mainland China, such as Costa Rica in 2007, Panama in 2017 and El Salvador in 2018.

However, in his view, Taiwan’s behavior should be evaluated against sovereignty, and he noted that Taiwanese officials in Panama are “burning with a mixture of hatred and enjoying the national flag of Panama” and the flag of the People’s Republic of China.

Yao holds that the Vienna Convention does not apply in the case of Taiwan, and since the People’s China is the “legitimate representative” before the United Nations, the local assets will become their “property”.

“In such cases, where the rights of Taiwan and China need to be defined, I suggest that Nicaragua submit a request for an advisory opinion to the International Court of Justice in The Hague so that its judges clarify this important point in international law.. Taiwan cannot participate, as it is neither a member of the United Nations nor a signatory on the Vienna Convention (1961), unless they can prove that they accept the jurisdiction of the Court on behalf of Taiwan exclusively,” he said in a questionnaire he answered to trusted.

Yao said Taiwan did the right thing by not passing judgment on human rights abuses by the Nicaraguan executive, which it interprets as interference in its internal affairs.

However, the international community in general denounced Ortega’s lack of respect for the civil rights of citizens, which the Sandinista leader called “interference” to avoid responding to abuses, including some crimes that international organizations classify as crimes against humanity.

The break with Taiwan comes amid the OAS condemnation of the repression and its aftermath Ortega’s illegitimate re-election last NovemberAfter the elimination of electoral competition as a result of imprisonment of key opposition leaders and control of the electoral authority.

Yao made none of these points and urged Taiwan to abandon its alliance with the United States, as it “endangers the entire planet.”