China forces Chen into Pacific detour

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was forced to delay his return from Los Angeles on Thursday after Mexico prohibited his plane from entering its airspace because of pressure exerted by China.

Chen and his delegation were forced to make a detour over the Pacific Ocean, extending the flying time from five to 10 hours. Chen and his delegation had been scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles at 2:30pm (LA time), but instead landed at around 8pm.

The delay caused all of the president's scheduled meetings and telephone calls with US politicians and academics to be cancelled.

Chen was supposed to return home this morning from his five-day trip to Nicaragua, after attending the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday.

Chen said he found China's behavior regrettable and added that it resulted from Beijing's failed attempts to lodge protests against his trip with the US and Nicaragua.

In addition, Chen said he was sorry to see China pressure the Spanish-language wire agency EFE to drop the interview that had been scheduled with him on Thursday morning. The agency rebuffed the intimidation.

Faced with Beijing's new method of using its diplomatic allies to limit the nation's international space, Chen vowed to push on with diplomatic tasks for the benefit of Taiwan.

"We must stand up and walk out to the world with courage," he said. "Many difficulties lie ahead, but I believe where there is a will, there is a way."

Deputy Presidential Office Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) told the press accompanying the president that Beijing was the main culprit behind the change of plan.

"It is audacious and detestable that China lobbied Mexico to revoke its approval," she said. "We do not understand why it was OK for us to fly over Mexican airspace on our way to Nicaragua but not on the return journey."

Liu said they learned of the change on Thursday morning and asked the Nicaraguan government to negotiate with Mexico but received no positive response before boarding the plane.

After conferring with the president, Liu said they decided to fly over the Pacific Ocean en route to Los Angeles.

Liu said they used diplomatic channels to inform the US government of the situation and asked the US to negotiate with Mexico.

"We hope Mexico doesn't cause any further trouble for our friend the United States, because all we want to do is refuel in Los Angeles and make our way home," she said.

China's suppression will only make the people of Taiwan realize that Beijing will do whatever it can to stifle Taiwan's international space and its brazen behavior will only further irritate the Taiwanese people, she added.

Liu said that China's move was triggered by Ortega's promise to uphold diplomatic relations with Taiwan amid speculation that the Central American state would switch allegiance to China.

Prior to leaving Nicaragua, Chen witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Taiwan and Nicaragua, which paved the way for a five-year cooperation accord.

Describing the signing of the memorandum as a "beautiful ending" to Chen's visit, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said Ortega told Chen during their private meeting on Tuesday that he hoped the two countries would sign a document to strengthen mutual ties but did not specify its form.

Both sides began preliminary consultations on Wednesday and signed the memorandum of understanding at the airport's VIP lounge, Huang said, adding that they discussed only the "direction" of future cooperation and did not touch on the details.