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Taiwan's diplomats need skills upgraded

One of Taiwan's most vulnerable spots is its foreign relations. Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent overseas trip may seem like an magnificent display of power and prestige, but it has left no permanent impact. This is the result of the current international situation, and has nothing to do with who is in power in Taiwan. As much as the Taiwan people disagree with "monetary diplomacy" (金錢外交), ties with some less-developed countries will continue as the focal point of the new administration's foreign policy.

Nevertheless, we should not confine ourselves in dealing with diplomatic allies. With respect to the highly challenging task of building European ties, the government must go all out. Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao's (田弘茂) recent announcement that henceforth the maximum age of overseas diplomatic personnel shall be 68, and large-scale personnel changes in Taiwan's European representatives, are both steps in the right direction. Talent is the core of foreign relations and young talent is needed to energize our diplomacy.

No amount of hard work is going to make European countries pick Taipei over Beijing. However, as demonstrated by Taiwan's relations with Germany, European ties are not really as impossible as we might think. Although any breakthrough in official ties is unlikely, we still have much room for growth in foreign affairs such as seeking airport visa issuance for our countrymen, and strengthening cultural exchanges and economic and trade interactions, as well as winning over public opinion. These are all goals that can be accomplished through diplomacy.

Unlike the diplomatic personnel of countries with whom German government has official ties, Taiwan representatives lack official communication channels with the government there, and the status of diplomatic personnel. They often rely on informal ties to proceed with diplomatic work. Therefore, they must maintain a low profile in promoting public relations. Ties with politicians, industrial and business leaders, celebrities, and members of the general public are all worthy resources. This kind of contact-building has gradually expanded the room for Taiwan-German relations.

To accomplish all these, the representatives to Germany must speak fluent German.

In the past, however. appointments were often made as political rewards, rather than based on real qualifications such as linguistic ability and cultural understanding. The mentality appears to be have been: Since European countries are so unlikely to establish a formal relationship with us, why bother? The representatives were often only modestly fluent in English alone. The Europeans, including the Germans, are proud of their respective cultural heritages. A representative fluent in German could certainly have more impact than one ignorant of the German language, and thereby its culture and its people. Win them over with cultural understanding and the work is half way done.

To help untie the knots in Taiwan's diplomacy, President Chen has proposed a concept of "diplomacy by all people (全民外交)," in the hope that everyone would become an ambassador of goodwill. As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will establish a "school of diplomacy" to train the general public. And yet while the root of the problem in Taiwan's diplomacy might be people-centered, it is not the problem of the general public. If the new administration really has its heart set on improving foreign relations, it must review its policy of selection for ambassadorial appointments.

Huang Jui-ming is an assistant professor at the Department of Labor Relations at National Chung Cheng University.

Translated by Francis Huang
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