Paraguay leader praises Taiwan as ‘lighthouse of democracy’

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The outgoing president of Paraguay, whose country is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, has spoken of his admiration for the island democracy while on a state visit to Taipei. Mario Abdo Benitez was welcomed with an honor guard on Thursday as he walked alongside Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on a red carpet in front of the Presidential House. Taiwan is closely watching as Paraguay is set to hold presidential elections in which the opposition party candidate has said he would break diplomatic ties with Taiwan if elected, according to local media. Abdo arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday on a five-day visit. Since Tsai was elected in 2016, China has been on a pressure campaign to poach the island’s remaining diplomatic allies. Taiwan currently has 14 diplomatic allies.