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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The tiny Caribbean country of Grenada apologised to China after a police band mistakenly played the national anthem of Taiwan during the inauguration of a cricket stadium paid for by Beijing.
In a statement late on Saturday, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell promised a full investigation of the gaffe that local residents said left Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and other Chinese nationals who had worked on the stadium looking visibly embarrassed.
Mitchell said the playing of the anthem of Taiwan, considered by China to be a breakaway region that will one day be reunited with the mainland, was an "inadvertent error."
"I want to say again, my deepest apology, it has saddened and ached my heart," Mitchell said in the brief statement.
"I do want to promise though that this incident will not go unnoticed and that a full investigation will in fact have to be done."
Taiwan has long wooed countries, particularly small island states, to support its desire for recognition and several Carribean islands have diplomatic relations with Taipei. In return, Taiwan has become a major supplier of aid.
Mitchell's government, however, broke off relations with Taiwan in 2005 in favour of strengthening relations with China.
- REUTERS
