The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday issued a press release to apologize for botching the Senegalese soccer team's visit last week, saying three high-ranking Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials had submitted themselves for punishment
"We must express our apology to the whole country now, because our mistakes -- which happened during the process of contacting and communicating with our guests -- have harmed the government's image and also failed to meet the public's expectations."
The press release said that the MOFA had made two major mistakes. The first was that it said its communication with the Senegalese team was flawed. The second was that it failed to promptly issue corrections when the media publicized incorrect information regarding the team's schedule.
Those who submitted themselves for punishment to Minister Eugene Chien (簡又新) are deputy director of the ministry's non-governmental organization affairs committee, Shih Jui-chi (石瑞琦), section chief of the committee Li Jui-cheng (李瑞徵) and Ministry Spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月).
Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that he had instructed the MOFA and the National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports to punish those officials who played a role in the mishandling of the event.
"Both the MOFA and the council already sent their reports to my office, and I told them they should learn a lesson [on the matter] and prevent the same mistakes from happening again," Yu told reporters yesterday. "I also ordered the two departments to publicize their lists of those officials who will be punished as soon as possible."
Yu said that since both MOFA and the council have expressed their sincerity in wanting to improve their ability to arrange such diplomatic visits, he was leaving it up to them to decide who should be punished and how.
Council officials said yesterday that a lack of communication between the two bodies was the main reason behind the problems surrounding the Senegalese visit.
Meanwhile, MOFA officials yesterday sought to reassure the public that the visit would not impact Taiwan-Senegal ties or President Chen Shui-bian's upcoming visit to the country.
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