Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has congratulated David Adeang after the Nauru Parliament elected him president of Taiwan’s Pacific ally, following a no-confidence vote that ousted former president Russ Joseph Kun on Wednesday last week.
Adeang, the longest-serving member of Nauru’s parliament, yesterday secured 10 votes in the 19-member parliament, becoming president, while Delvin Thoma received eight, the ministry said in a news release.
Adeang was speaker of the parliament in 2004 and 2008, and held a number of Cabinet-level positions, including minister assisting the president as well as minister of finance and minister of justice.
Adeang has visited Taiwan several times and also accompanied former Nauru president Ludwig Scotty on a visit to Taipei in 2005, when Scotty signed an agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations between the countries, the ministry said.
The ministry said it would continue to work closely with Adeang’s administration and enhance bilateral cooperation on various fronts, based on their decades of cooperation.
The Nauru government wrote on Facebook that the vote for a new president was deadlocked from Wednesday last week until Monday morning, when Kun said that the impasse had gone on long enough and nominated Adeang in a second round of nominations, giving Adeang an extra vote.
The post did not say why a vote of no confidence was initiated against Kun, who became president in September last year.
Kun led a delegation to Taiwan from 08 -12 October, during which he attended Double Ten National Day celebrations.
He also spoke at the Yushan Forum in Taipei on 11 October.
The Republic of China first established diplomatic relations with Nauru in 1980 before the Pacific island cut ties with Taipei to recognize the People’s Republic of China in July 2002.
SOURCE: TAIPEI TIMES/PACNEWS
