The Chinese communist regime, through its embassy in Panama, expressed China’s rejection of a new parliamentary working group created by Panamanian and Taiwanese lawmakers.
On Tuesday, the Panamanian National Assembly announced that 43 of its 71 Congressmen established the “Panama-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.” The group seeks to strengthen ties between the two parliaments and explore bilateral cooperation options that can yield mutual benefits for both nations. The group’s establishment is the result of several talks between Panamanian and Taiwanese lawmakers in Taipei over the past year.
The group’s leader, Panamanian Congressman Medín Jiménez, reportedly detailed that one of the subjects so far discussed by the lawmakers is the possible opening of a Taiwanese Commercial Office in Panama. The Central American nation cut its ties with Taiwan in 2017 and simultaneously embraced the Chinese Communist Party’s “One China Principle” which falsely claims that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a “province” of China rather than a sovereign nation.
The Chinese embassy in Panama firmly rejected the announcement through a Spanish-language statement accusing Panama of “flagrantly violating” both the so-called One China Principle and Panama’s foreign policy. The embassy recited the false claim of the principle and affirmed that the Chinese government is “the only legitimate government that represents all of China,” including Taiwan.
“The Chinese side categorically opposes countries that maintain diplomatic relations with China from engaging in any form of official contact with the Taiwan region. The National Assembly of Panama is one of Panama’s state institutions,” the statement read. “Therefore, it is the responsibility of parliamentary institutions and members of Congress to fully and accurately implement the state’s foreign policy.”
“The establishment by Panamanian legislators of a so-called ‘Exchange Group’ with the purported legislative body of a province of China constitutes a flagrant interference in China’s internal affairs, violates the One China principle, a fundamental norm of international relations, contradicts Panama’s foreign policy, and sends the wrong signal regarding bilateral relations,” the text continued.
The Chinese embassy urged Panama’s lawmakers involved in the group to “change their stance as soon as possible,” abide by the Panamanian state’s foreign policy, stop “interfering” in China’s internal affairs, and “cease undermining” relations between China and Panama.
“We warn a certain third party that tolerates and supports pro-independence elements in Taiwan that China’s resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is unshakable. Any act that undermines the One China principle is doomed to failure,” the text concluded.
Unnamed Panamanian diplomatic sources disclosed to Infobae that the Chinese diplomats at the embassy in Panama “went mad” after they found out about the Panama-Taiwan parliamentary group’s creation on Monday night.
“They tried to stop him by any means necessary, they even threatened members of Congress,” the source reportedly said. “There was a lot of pressure, but in the end, the members of Congress refused to give in.”
Panamanian Congressman Luis Duke told La Estrella de Panama on Tuesday that the group is composed of lawmakers from different political parties seeking to promote trade, technology, innovation, agrotechnology, and knowledge transfer opportunities with Taiwan. Duke stressed that the Panamanian Legislature has “all the faculties, power, and responsibility” to establish ties with parliaments from other nations.
“We are not interfering in the country’s bilateral diplomatic relations, because that is a matter for the executive branch,” Duke said.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung celebrated the group’s creation on Wednesday morning, describing it as a new chapter in the ties between both nations that “strengthens momentum” for democratic partnership and practical cooperation.
The Chinese communist regime’s once growing influence in Panama has found itself wane over the past years. In 2025, conservative President José Raúl Mulino announced Panama’s departure from China’s predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
This year, and following a lengthy legal process, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated two controversial contracts that gave the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison control of two key ports on both sides of the Panama Canal. The Chinese regime demanded that the Panamanian government somehow override the judiciary’s decision and began a harassment campaign against Panamanian-flagged vessels docking at Chinese ports. Last month, CK Hutchison announced that it is seeking $1.5 billion in alleged damages as a result of the Supreme Court ruling against the company.