A delegation of high-ranking Taiwanese public officials are in Belize - but they're not the usual state functionaries; these ones specialize in watchdog activities to keep their government officials and the public service in check.
To appreciate the role that these VIP's play in their Government, think of them like a Taiwanese version of the Audit Department, the Integrity Commission and Police Internal Affairs office all rolled into one.
The head of the delegation, Dr. Po-ya Chang, is the President of a body known as "The Control Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan)". He today signed an agreement with Belize's Ombudsman, Lionel Arzu to provide assistance and technical support in areas of human rights violations and how to handle them.
It's an important partnership forged between these two oversight bodies, and this evening, they held a press conference to announce it to the public. 7News was there, and we spoke to the Ombudsman about how it will assist him and his staff in carrying out their duties:
Lionel Arzu, Ombudsman of Belize
"In the begining it was the Taiwan Embassy here in Belize who approach our office to request some arrangement for agreement to be signed eventually and it was all in line with human rights of both citizen; the human rights of Taiwan and the human rights of Belize and so after working along with His Excellency Benjamin Ho and Mr. Fan from the Taiwan Embassy, we were able to materialize what end up to be the corporation agreement to the.... it was not easy because we had to be in communication with their embassy and in communication with Dr. Chan."
Reporter
"The signing of this agreement, what does it symbolize? What does it mean?"
Lionel Arzu, Ombudsman of Belize
"The agreement basically is to exchange information as it relates to human rights issues in both countries and so we all are aware that Taiwan is one of Belize's best friend and when you have best friends, you expect to benefit both ways. We benefit, the Taiwanese benefit and for me I believe its very important because then they as a country that has contributed a lot to our country. I believe that from their expertise, we will be able to benefit from it."
While here, Dr. Po-Ya Chang and her team will pay a courtesy call on the Governor General, Sir Colville Young.
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