A packed agenda yesterday delayed the severance of diplomatic ties between Skopje and Taipei even as Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski signaled a willingness to maintain trade links with Taiwan.
But Taiwan will not set up a liaison office in Macedonia should the Balkan country decide to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"To uphold the country's dignity, the ministry will not accept any measure short of full diplomatic recognition to preserve ties between Taipei and Skopje," ministry spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said yesterday morning.
However, the ministry reiterated it would not take the initiative and cut ties with the troubled European state, pending a final decision by Macedonia.
"We have to approach the matter from a broader perspective and avoid emotional moves" before the dust cleared, said Chang. She added that Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Chiou Jong-nan (邱榮男) is still in Macedonia trying to avert the much talked-about diplomatic setback.
Skopje had indicated it would cut ties -- at the earliest -- after its Cabinet meeting yesterday, but a packed Cabinet agenda apparently prevented discussion of the issue.
Macedonia's newly formed coalition government has recently portrayed the setting up of formal ties with Taiwan as "a mistake."
Macedonia faces a continuing ethnic crisis domestically and needs all the support it can get from the major world powers, especially those on the UN Security Council.
Taiwan established diplomatic relations with Macedonia in 1999 amid talk of up to US$1 billion in aid, loans and investments. Taipei has hoped that ties with Skopje would open a gateway to Europe, where Macedonia and the Holy See are the country's only allies.
But the Taipei-Skopje tie-up led China to veto an extension of a UN peacekeeping mission along Macedonia' borders.
On Monday Trajkovski said his country would follow the same policy as the EU in its dealing with Taiwan. "Taiwan has large investments in Macedonia, but Macedonia wants to integrate itself into Europe and reestablish relations with China," he said during a visit to Sofia, Bulgaria.
The EU maintains diplomatic ties with China and only trade relations with Taiwan.
Last week, Foreign Minister Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) flew to Skopje in an effort to reinforce bilateral ties. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski reportedly told him of the decision to break links. Tien has shunned the media since his return, with aides saying he is monitoring developments and keeping both President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) posted.
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