Despite pressure from Beijing, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) visited Thailand and Australia during the Chinese New Year holiday as part of Taiwan's effort to strengthen ties with countries that Taiwan does not have diplomatic ties with, officials said yesterday.
"The fact remains that Taiwan is a sovereign state, that we have got to find ways to enhance our ties with neighboring countries, and [Tien's trip] is one of the feasible approaches to doing so," said a foreign ministry official under condition of anonymity.
Tien, who visited Thailand and Australia from Jan. 18 to Jan. 27, briefed reporters yesterday afternoon on his low-profile trips -- described by some local media as "vacation diplomacy" -- to the two countries.
"I do not dare to say that this is a great breakthrough, but this is the first time that Taiwan's foreign minister has been able to reach these two countries under such a formula," Tien said.
The Australian representative to Taipei said that Tien visited Australia in an unofficial capacity. "Mr Tien was in Australia for holiday. He visited in an entirely private and unofficial capacity," Sam Robert Gerovich, representative of the Australian Commerce and Industry Office, told the Taipei Times.
The Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei, however, declined to comment on Tien's trip. Tien admitted that countries that do not recognize Taiwan are often faced with extraordinary pressure from Beijing when high-ranking officials from Taiwan, such as the president, vice president and the foreign minister, propose to visit them.
"Of all the various Taiwanese ministers, a visit from the foreign minister to these countries is particularly taboo as the post is symbolic of [Taiwan's] sovereignty," Tien said. "I would like to express my gratitude for Thailand and Australia to give me this opportunity to spend my vacation [there] despite pressure [from Beijing]," Tien added.
The foreign minister said he was invited by the Thai royal family to attend the birthday banquet of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Tien also made his way to Chiang Mai to gain first-hand knowledge of the long-term agricultural cooperation schemes between the two countries.
As for his trip to Australia, Tien said he visited the country "in the formula of a vacation" where he toured four or five cities to exchange views with members of congress, scholars, as well as officials, although he declined to give details of these meetings.
In related news, Tien yesterday dismissed a foreign media report that Macedonia planned to switch ties from Taipei to Beijing, saying that ties between Taiwan and the Balkan state remained unchanged.
Japan's Sankei Shimbun quoted a Yugoslavian news agency as saying on Jan. 28 that Macedonia was considering dropping Taipei for Beijing. But upon receiving information from Taiwan's embassy in Macedonia, Tien said the report was "groundless."
Changes in the make up of Macedonia's coalition government last November triggered speculation that the Balkan state was to switch ties to Beijing as the Liberal Party of Macedonia, a new partner in the government, was against Macedonia's move to establish ties with Taiwan two years ago.
Taiwan established ties with Macedonia in January 1999, making it the only state in Europe other than the Vatican that recognizes Taipei officially.
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