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Guatemalan president arrives in Taiwan for visit slammed by China

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei arrived in Taiwan on Monday to strengthen diplomatic ties, drawing criticism from China.

During his visit, Giammattei is scheduled to address Taiwan’s congress, visit a technology company, and attend an event promoting Guatemalan coffee.

Beijing warned Giammattei’s government “not to help evildoers” and go against the global trend, while Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned Beijing’s “extremely disrespectful remarks.”

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei arrived in Taiwan on Monday to reinforce diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island, on a visit that has drawn China’s ire.

The Central American nation is one of the few remaining countries to recognise the sovereignty of Taiwan, a list that has shrunk in recent years as Beijing moves to isolate Taipei on the international stage.

China considers democratic Taiwan part of its territory to be retaken one day, and does not allow other countries to recognise both Beijing and Taipei.

Images released by Taiwan’s foreign ministry on Monday showed Giammattei being escorted by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu upon arriving at Taoyuan International Airport.

Before leaving for Taipei, Giammattei said he was making the trip to send a “clear message that countries have a right to self-governance”.

During his visit Monday through Thursday, Giammattei is scheduled to address the Congress of Taiwan and visit a technology company in Taichung, south of Taipei. He is also due to attend an event promoting Guatemalan coffee, according to the Taiwanese president’s office.

On Wednesday, Beijing warned Giammattei’s government “not to help evildoers and go against the general global trend and aspirations of the Guatemalan people for their own benefit.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned Beijing for using “extremely disrespectful remarks to insult our diplomatic ally and its head of state”.

Giammattei’s visit comes after a trip earlier this month by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen to Guatemala and Belize — the only other Central American country to retain diplomatic ties with Taiwan since Honduras shifted its allegiance to China last month.

On her way back to Taipei, Tsai stopped in the United States to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In response, China staged three days of military exercises simulating targeted strikes and a blockade of the island.

Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground for China and Taiwan since the two splits in 1949 after a civil war.

Beijing has spent decades convincing Taipei’s diplomatic allies to switch sides, gaining nine since Tsai took office in 2016.

Taiwan’s 65-year-old ties with Paraguay are also at risk, with opposition candidate Efrain Alegre reportedly saying he would switch recognition to Beijing if elected in presidential elections on 30 April.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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