A senior diplomat yesterday expressed concern over the lack of discretion exercised by the nation’s overseas consulates when drawing up their guest lists for this year’s Double Ten national day gala.
The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this year many overseas consulates made public the names of guests invited from countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Taipei. Some of these guests, including former prime ministers, wives of former prime ministers and important aides, had attended national day celebration balls before or had been long-term friends of Taiwan, the official said.
It was also customary for the consulates to make public the names of only the guests who were not afraid of upsetting China in telegraphs sent back to Taipei, the diplomat said.
The diplomat criticized the consulates’ move this year as fawning to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and loosening their vigilance because of the “diplomatic truce” policy championed by the Ma administration.
The lack of discretion demonstrated by the consulates had made it easy for China to learn of the nation’s relations with countries that do not have official ties with Taiwan, the diplomat said.
The diplomat said that so far, unlike in past years, China had not tried to prevent important figures from Taiwan’s allies from attending the Double Ten day celebration balls hosted by the overseas consulates, nor had it tried to persuade Taiwan’s foreign guests to participate in China’s celebrations instead this year.
The diplomat said that while that appeared to be promising, the nation should still be cautious about Beijing’s real intentions, as the lull could be merely a pretense.
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