DPP officials rub shoulders with foreign diplomatic corps

With the upcoming presidential election in March, the DPP is cultivating its international image as a party-in-waiting to take over from the KMT in the coming century.

During the party's annual reception for Taiwan's diplomatic corps yesterday, DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) said Taiwan's democratization can only be complete with the transition of power to the opposition.

"A peaceful transition of power from one party to another is an essential element of successful democratization," Lin said.

"We believe that the alternation of power to end the long-term monopoly of the KMT is essential for the stability of Taiwan's democratic system," he added.

The DPP has been the symbol of Taiwan's democratization and opposition against the KMT's one-party rule.

Most of the DPP's leaders were political dissidents jailed as a result of the Kaohsiung Incident and the party was not officially recognized until 1986.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Chien-jen (程建?H) was in attendance, marking the first time a foreign minister has attended the reception since its debut six years ago.

"I cannot agree or endorse what chairman Lin said," Chen joked.

"This function demonstrates how free Taiwan has become. I cannot imagine this kind of scenario 15 years ago," he said.

The ambassador from El Salvador, Francisco Ricardo Santana Berrios, previously posted here between 1985-1991, applauded Taiwan's democratic progress.

"Things are different now than when I was here before. There was no such activity back then. I am very impressed with Taiwan's democratic process," Santana said.

Other foreign representatives lauded the political pluralism in Taiwan and said they would consider attending other such events.

"If the New Party issued an invitation to a similar function, I would consider attending," said Cornelius Scholtz, the South African representative.

According to Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the DDP's director of international affairs, the purpose of these events is to show that the party is becoming more mature in handling international relations.

"We want the foreign representatives to know what the DPP's position is on foreign relations," Hsiao said.

"The media is too focused on how many diplomatic allies Taiwan has. There are other aspects to foreign affairs -- economic considerations, trade and NGOs," she said.