New Taiwan dollar
New Taiwan dollar (; code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of the Republic of China (ROC) used in Taiwan Area. Formally, one dollar () is divided into ten dimes (), and to 100 cents (), although cents are never used in practice. The New Taiwan dollars has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars per one new dollar. There are a variety of alternative names to the units in Taiwan. The unit of dollar is usually written in simpler form as . Colloquially, the currency unit usually called (kuài, literally "piece") in Mandarin, (kho͘, literally "hoop") in Taiwanese Hokkien, and (ngiùn, literally "silver") in Hakka.
Foreign relations of Taiwan
In 2011 WikiLeaks revealed that Taiwan had been paying a "monthly stipend" to Nauruan government ministers in exchange for their continued support, as well as a smaller sum to other Members of Parliament, as "project funding that requires minimal accounting". Reporting on the story, the "Brisbane Times" wrote: "One MP reportedly used his Taiwanese stipend to buy daily breakfast for all schoolchildren in his district, while others were happy to just pocket the cash". A "former Australian diplomat with close knowledge of politics in Nauru" stated that Nauruan President Marcus Stephen, Foreign Minister Kieren Keke and former President Ludwig Scotty, among others, had all accepted "under the counter" funding from Taiwan. The leaks revealed that "Chinese [PRC] agents had also sought to influence Nauru's elections through cash payments to voters, with at least $40,000 distributed in one instance in 2007".