Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) trip to Jakarta last week marks a shift in the Taiwanese government's tactics in dealing with China's attempts to isolate it in the international community, sources said yesterday.
Sources from the Presidential Office said that President Chen Shui-bian (
"For fear of being regarded by the international community as a troublemaker, Taiwan in the past has often yielded to other nations' unfair treatment whenever they complained about pressure from Beijing," a source, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Taipei Times yesterday.
PHOTO: CHU YU-PING, TAIPEI TIMES
"But now, Taiwan no longer wants to accept such unfair treatment," the source said.
Apparently as a result of opposition from China, Indonesia denied Lu entry to its capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday, forcing the vice president to fly on to Bali after waiting in the airport at Jakarta for two hours.
The source said that the Indonesian government had privately apologized and asked Taiwan to understand the difficult position it was in.
"But we did not accept [the apology]," the source said. "We made it clear that we would not tolerate the Indonesian government's move just because it said that it was under pressure from Beijing."
On Friday, Indonesia appeared to relent. Lu was allowed to enter Jakarta and met with congressmen and other former and incumbent government officials before flying back to Taiwan on Saturday.
"China can not make decisions for Taiwan," the source added. "If the Indonesian government wants to have any contact with Taiwan, it has to squarely face the existence of Taiwanese authority."
Insiders commented that Taiwan's government had a number of bargaining chips which it could use to negotiate with the Indonesians.
One issue is Taiwan's ban on the importation of Indonesian laborers, which it announced on July 31. Lu apparently met with Indonesia's labor minister to discuss the matter while she was in Bali.
Taiwan is also considering buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth NT$400 billion (US$11.79 billion) from Indonesia.
Hsueh Yi-cheng (
Nevertheless, the DPP has judged the trip to be a success, despite Lu's initial setback.
DPP Legislator Parris Chang (
"Lu's four-day trip to Indonesia was a very successful diplomatic breakthrough," said Chang, who also serves as the convener of Legislature Yuan's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. "It has made Beijing lose face."
Nevertheless, Chang cautioned that further diplomatic initiatives would have to be carefully planned and conducted as part of a coherent strategy.
The Indonesia trip might also boost Lu's chances of securing her place as Chen's running mate in the 2004 presidential election.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS