The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday downplayed reports that the government paid US$140,000 to a consultancy affiliated with former US senator Bob Dole, allegedly in exchange for his efforts to help establish high-level contact between Taiwanese officials and US president-elect Donald Trump’s staff that culminated in a historic telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Trump on Friday last week.
Dole has long been a significant friend of Taiwan who has assisted with communications between Taipei and the US Republican Party, the ministry said in a statement.
“The government is grateful for Dole’s strong friendship and adamant support,” the ministry said, declining to comment on a New York Times report that identified Dole as the facilitator of the call.
Photo: AFP
However, a few hours later, the ministry revised its position on Dole’s reported role, saying that none of the consultancies hired by the government played a part in setting up the call.
“It has been customary practice for the government to hire consultant firms to lobby for the nation. All related budgets have been subjected to legislative scrutiny and conformed with US laws,” the ministry said, citing as an example the representative office in the US’ retaining of Dole’s Washington-based law firm, Alston & Bird, since February 2003.
Citing documents filed with the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the New York Times on Tuesday reported that Alston & Bird had from May to October received US$140,000 from the government to coordinate with Trump’s campaign to set up a series of meetings.
“The disclosures suggest that Trump’s decision to take a call from the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, was less a ham-handed diplomatic gaffe and more the result of a well-orchestrated plan by Taiwan to use the election of a new president to deepen its relationship with the United States — with an assist from a seasoned lobbyist well versed in the machinery of Washington,” the report said.
Separately yesterday, the Presidential Office criticized the report as incorrect and misleading, saying that the documents it cited did not include any specific plans about the Tsai-Trump call.
“The process to set up the telephone call between President Tsai and president-elect Trump followed standing procedure,” the office said, adding that it was not permitted to comment on the process nor details.
However, former minister of foreign affairs Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said the nation has been cultivating lobbyists in Washington for decades, investing in eight to 10 firms every year, and "[Taiwan's investing in public relations firms] is not a thing that emerged only in recent days," adding that the representative office in the US has had contract with this reported firm for at least ten years.
Lobbying is a prevalent practice in Washington, with tens of thousands of firms involved, Chen said, adding that Taiwan’s investment was “normal” compared with that of other nations, including Japan, Israel, China and other nations in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) called the report groundless, saying it was meant to blemish the Tsai-Trump call.
“The funds were for normal lobbying efforts and had nothing to do with the call,” Lo said, dismissing the possibility of the government spending money on lobbying just for a single telephone call.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
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