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Taiwanese officials snubbed in Seoul

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) confirmed yesterday that National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) missed yesterday's inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak because of pressure from China.

"Legislative Speaker Wang and Secretary-General Chen left for South Korea on Sunday, but China began to pressure the South Korean government after learning of the planned participation of our representatives," he said outside the legislature.

"China had threatened to boycott the ceremony by having its representative, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇), leave the inauguration in protest. Under these circumstances, the South Korean government, which was put in a dilemma, said they hoped Wang and Chen would not attend the ceremony for the sake of the harmony of the inauguration," Huang said.

"The incident was yet another stark reminder of the gravity and ubiquity of China's diplomatic suppression of Taiwan," he said.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had appointed Wang and Chen as the nation's representatives to the inauguration. The two men went to Seoul on Sunday and returned home yesterday.

Despite missing the inauguration, Huang said the two men had been able to meet many "good friends" in Seoul.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), however, questioned the government's explanation for the snub.

Lin wondered if South Korea had really issued an official invitation to the ceremony to Taiwan.

"It was a serious violation of international manners to reject an envoy who was invited to a national leader's inauguration," Lin said.

"But given the tough personality of South Koreans, they wouldn't have been so impolite, even if faced with China's pressure. Therefore, the ministry should clearly explain the matter to the public," he said.

President Chen said yesterday that Mark Chen had been invited by Seoul to attend.

Seoul also agreed to allow Wang to attend, the president said, but then Beijing threatened to boycott the event if Seoul allowed any Taiwanese representative to attend.

"The Chinese government politicized the inauguration because it was a diplomatic occasion. There was no flexibility in China's suppression [of Taiwan] even though Wang is a KMT member," he said.

He said Beijing's suppression of Taiwan would only intensify because diplomacy is a symbol of sovereignty: "China will never be soft on Taiwan when it comes to sovereignty.

He made the remarks while meeting two former US officials at the Presidential Office yesterday: Randall Schriver, former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs under US President George W. Bush, and Dan Blumenthal, who was senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia in the Secretary of Defense Office of International Affairs during former president George Bush's administration.

But a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Seoul said that under "the `one China' principle, the government did not extend any official invitation to any representatives from Taipei."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office said the incident proved that KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) proposed "diplomatic truce" with Beijing was unrealistic.

Ma last night expressed "strong condemnation" of China, saying it had overstepped the line and was extremely "impolite" to Taiwanese.

He urged China to cease marginalizing Taiwanese, as it would not help the cross-strait situation.

Huang said yesterday that news of Wang and Chen being invited to attend had been leaked, giving China an opportunity to pressure the South Korean government to shut the door on them.

Despite knowing that South Korean officials were likely to give in to pressure from China, Wang and Chen still went according to plan in order to maintain Taipei-Seoul relations, he said.

Additional reporting by CNA
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