U.D.P.: Kareem Musa’s Visit to China Borders Betrayal of the National Interest

The governing party this afternoon sent out a release making assertions that the visit by the parliamentarian and delegation was a ploy by the People’s United Party to bolster its coffers for the upcoming general elections.  The visit has stirred controversy because of the cosy relations with Taiwan, which has been funding hundreds of projects in Belize and bailing out the government on occasions.  On Tuesday, the Belize Chinese Association denied a claim by Musa that it was the source of the invite to the mainland. The U.D.P. is capitalizing on the fallout calling out the P.U.P. and at the same time expressing the steadfast support toward Taiwan. A release states that the U.D.P. would never countenance any overtures from China and would never contemplate the diplomatic switch that they say the area rep admitted was a possibility for the P.U.P.  While the U.D.P. questions if the visit was sanctioned by the P.U.P., it states that it has no doubt this was with the connivance of the P.U.P. leadership. It adds, “This level of political opportunism, this willingness to sell out our nation’s long accepted foreign policy regarding China and Taiwan, borders on outright betrayal of the national interest. This is especially so because it is well known that Belize is even now negotiating the final loan documents with Taiwan for the Sarteneja road, among other mega projects.”  The U.D.P. release ends with a call on the P.U.P. to denounce the trip and to publicly make clear that it too is committed and will not betray the relations with Taiwan for money.