China's diplomatic suppression of Taiwan has become increasingly disgraceful and outrageous, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) said Saturday in an online speech broadcast at a Thanksgiving Day party in Washington.
Chen said he could only address the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner of the Taiwanese Association in the US capital via the Internet rather than in person due to Beijing's diplomatic embargo against Taiwan.
"Although Taiwan is a sovereign state, its high-ranking government officials are barred from visiting the US capital because of Beijing's diplomatic stranglehold, " said Chen, who once headed a large Taiwanese association in the US.
Chen said President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has offered many policy initiatives and has repeatedly extended olive branches to Beijing in recent months in an effort to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
"Cross-strait peace is a common expectation of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and even the entire world. However, Beijing has so far not given any positive response or offered any constructive overtures. It has instead intensified its diplomatic suppression of Taiwan and its repressive tactics have become increasingly heinous and flagrant," he said.
Chen went to the US to pursue a doctorate in physics. Due to his pro-independence stance, he was barred from returning to Taiwan until the early 1990s.
With the concerted efforts of Taiwanese people at home and abroad, Chen said Taiwan is now a liberal democracy. He encouraged all Taiwanese expatriates and Taiwanese-Americans to cooperate closely to enhance their political influence and lobby the US government and Congress to support Taiwan's cause.
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