The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it had not received any notice of resignation from You Ching (尤清), the nation's representative to Germany, but that it would continue to respect the decisions of diplomats appointed by the previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration should they decide to quit.
Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took office on May 20, the issue of whether DPP political appointees should resign has become controversial.
So far, several DPP officials have tendered their resignation, including representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), representative to the EU Michael Kau (高英茂), representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (�?�) and representative to Brazil Chou Shu-yeh (周叔夜).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) appointed Jason Yuan (袁健生) on Wednesday as the new representative to the US. However, the Presidential Office has yet to announce new appointments for the remaining vacancies.
“As of [yesterday], the ministry had not received a formal resignation from You,” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said. “However, if he decides to quit, the ministry will respect his decision.”
While emphasizing the ministry’s respect for the decisions of DPP appointees, Chen said that “instead of looking at individual cases, the ministry will also make an overall assessment regarding its personnel appointments.”
The ministry would only evaluate officials on their professionalism and abilities, he said.
Despite the ministry’s claims, You confirmed his resignation on Saturday, saying he issued a verbal resignation to Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) during a meeting on Wednesday.
“I believe I am qualified. However, if I cannot win the trust of the government, I should not and do not have to stay,” he said.
DPP legislators urged party members who have chosen to remain in government or as executives in state-run firms to resign to “avoid becoming scapegoats for the incompetence of the KMT government.”
The call came after Koh resigned on June 16 after being called a “traitor” by KMT legislators over his handling of a collision between a Japanese patrol vessel and a Taiwanese fishing boat near the disputed Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands on June 10.
You said his resignation was unrelated to the DPP’s appeal.
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