Presidential Office denies rumor that Taiwan will pay for Paraguay villas

Presidential Office denies rumor that Taiwan will pay for Paraguay villas

2023-08-17

As Vice President Lai Ching-te wraps up his trip, a new rumor is getting traction online, concerning his time in Paraguay. A social media post claims that Lai agreed to spend more than NT$10 billion on social housing in Paraguay. The post alleges that during his Paraguay state visit, he signed a deal to build single-family villas. But the Presidential Office denies the claim, saying that Lai signed nothing during his visit. It says the rumor is part of a disinformation campaign meant to undermine Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts.

In a post on the PTT online forum, the title reads “Another NT$10 billion for Paraguay to build social housing.” The post claims that during Vice President Lai Ching-te’s visit to Paraguay, he signed an agreement with President Santiago Pena, pledging to invest US$320 million -- or about NT$10.1 billion -- to build social housing in Paraguay over the next five years. The post contains a photo of the supposed agreement, as well as images of the single-family “villas” that Taiwan would allegedly build in Paraguay. The forum user called on Lai to bring Paraguay’s housing justice to Taiwan. A DPP lawmaker and the Presidential Office have denounced the post as disinformation.

Liu Shih-fang
DPP lawmaker
In the supposed agreement, the Spanish text says that the total amount of cooperation funds is US$150 million, but the numerals say US$320 million. It’s sloppy work. The document was also signed in December 2023. As you all know, it’s only August now. So what are we looking at here? And the signatures are all forged.

Lin Yu-chan
Presidential Office spokesperson
The fact is that during his state visit, Vice President Lai Ching-te did not sign any documents with the government of Paraguay. The pictures and signatures in the rumor were forged with the intention of spreading disinformation to confuse the people of Taiwan. It is clearly a deliberate attempt to attack the government. After a preliminary investigation, it has been determined that this is part of a systematic disinformation campaign carried out jointly by foreign and domestic actors to undermine Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts.

Jeff Liu
Foreign ministry spokesperson
The foreign ministry’s stance on disinformation is just like our stance on sexual harassment: zero tolerance. The ministry reported the incident to police immediately, and the Criminal Investigation Bureau has received all the relevant documents provided by the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry urged the public not to believe or share the post with others. It said that the key to fighting cognitive warfare was to enhance one’s own awareness and knowledge.