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James Huang reiterates China threat

"It's going to be a very tough year in terms of making diplomatic progress."

James Huang, minister of foreign affairs

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) returned from Swaziland yesterday, warning that China could use any of a series of major events to increase its efforts to isolate Taiwan.

The nation needs to carry on with its efforts because Beijing will not stop its fight to limit Taiwan's international space, Huang told a news conference at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

"It's going to be a very tough year in terms of making diplomatic progress," Huang said.

En route to Malawi last week,Huang made a last-minute detour to Swaziland when Lilongwe informed him it could not receive him.

He said that Saturday's legislative elections, the presidential election on March 22 and presidential inauguration on May 20, as well as the Olympic Games in Beijing, were all opportunities during which China could try to press Taiwan's diplomatic allies.

"China will not cease to restrict Taiwan's diplomatic space during the election season. On the contrary, it will intensify its pressure during this period," Huang said.

The cancellation of Huang's visit to Malawi added fuel to weeks of speculation that the country would sever its diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China.

Huang said the relationship between Taiwan and Malawi was "at a sensitive and delicate stage" and communication between the two countries had hit a rough spot.

Huang said he called off his trip as per diplomatic protocol after Malawi said that the visit would be inconvenient.

"I chose to respect Malawi's decision because I didn't want to put [senior Malawian officials] in a difficult position," he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Friday Malawian Minister of Foreign Affairs Joyce Banda had spoken to Huang on the phone during a flight stopover and told Huang he would be invited to visit once government operations returned to full speed after the holiday season.

Huang said he would visit Malawi whenever there was a convenient opportunity.

In related developments, a MOFA delegation left for the Marshall Islands yesterday to consolidate ties with the ally, which has elected a new president, Litokwa Tomeing.

Meanwhile, a group of former US officials, including former secretary of defense William Perry, postponed a planned visit to Taiwan from next week until April.

MOFA Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said the ministry was in touch with the group concerning the reason for the rescheduling of the trip.

The former US officials arranged the visit to learn more about Taiwan's democracy, the latest developments in cross-strait relations and the effect of the legislative elections on the political scene, the ministry said late last month.
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