Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) yesterday said that Japanese Representative to Taiwan Masaki Saito's behavior was not fitting of a diplomat, joining a growing chorus of criticism over the envoy's remark about Taiwan's “unresolved” status.
Speaking at a luncheon in Taipei, Ou said because Saito is a government representative, he could not claim he was only expressing his personal views.
“As a career diplomat, I thought his speech and conduct were inappropriate for a public servant. As a representative of a government, he has no room to make any personal statements. Everything he says represents his government. We believe he will deal with the mistakes he has committed,” Ou said.
Saito has been the subject of scorn of Beijing and the Taiwanese government since he told an academic forum in Chiayi County on Friday that Taiwan's status had “not been determined.”
Saito's comments, however, have won plaudits from independence activists who support his view.
Yesterday's luncheon, in which Ou was the only invited speaker on the subject of flexible diplomacy, was jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Global Views monthly magazine.
Ou said one of the tenets of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) flexible diplomacy was to engage in a diplomatic truce with Beijing.
The truce, he said, benefits Taiwan, China and the international community.
During the six-decade-long period of cross-strait hostilities, he said, both Taiwan and China engaged in nasty tug-of-wars to lure away each other's allies, which produced negative results for Taipei, Beijing and the international community.
“Although China successfully blocked Taiwan's international participation, it also ignited anti-China sentiment among the Taiwanese public,” he said.
“Taiwan's struggle for independence never came to fruition during the eight years of Democratic Progressive Party rule. Taiwan lost nine allies but only gained three,” he said.
“Mutual trust with non-ally countries, such as the US, Japan and European nations, also deteriorated,” he said.
Ou said the US “appreciated” Ma's decision to maintain a low profile when he transited through the US on his way to and back from Latin America in August.
“Foreign relations must be constantly cultivated by our representatives and ambassadors. It is not something a transit stop by a high-ranking official can do,” he said.
He added that the Ma administration would not engage in “transit diplomacy,” “vacation diplomacy,” or “mystery destination diplomacy,” referring to 2006 when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) deviated from his publicized itinerary by making stops at several non-ally nations on a visit to Paraguay.
Ou assured the audience that despite the current detente on the diplomatic front, Taiwan retains its diplomatic muscle and would be ready to compete against China if Beijing ever pulls out of the truce.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS