The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday that the Chinese Bird Association was a non-governmental organization (NGO) and therefore the ministry could not interfere in the group’s decision to change its name by replacing the word “Taiwan” with “Chinese.”
MOFA spokesman Henry Chen’s (陳銘政) remarks came in response to a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that the Wild Bird Federation Taiwan was forced to change its name to the Chinese Wild Bird Federation in mid-March because of pressure from Beijing.
“The name change was an internal decision of the association. The ministry has no role in the process,” said Chen, adding that MOFA does not interfere with NGOs’ decisions.
He said the federation was called the Chinese Wild Bird Federation when it was established in 1988, but changed its name to the Wild Bird Federation Taiwan in 2000.
The ministry also rebutted a Liberty Times’ report yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) proposed “diplomatic truce” policy had alienated Taiwan’s supporters in Africa. The paper quoted an anonymous source as saying many African countries were reluctant to form closer working ties with Taipei because of Ma’s proposal.
The Taiwan-African Summit, held for the first time last year in Taipei, would also be canceled, the newspaper said.
Chen said cost was the primary reason the Taiwan-African friendship meeting was called off, adding that the proposal to scale down the Taiwan-African group was made under the previous administration.
“After weighing the pros and cons, the Department of African Affairs decided it would be a huge expense to form such group and the group was unnecessary because there already were several pro-Taiwan lawmakers and individuals from the private sector in Africa,” he said. “It would also expose some pro-Taiwan Africans to unwelcome publicity.”
“It had nothing to do with the diplomatic truce,” he said.
He said the landscape of Taiwan’s influence in Africa has changed dramatically since the idea was first pitched. Malawi cut ties with Taipei in January after 45 years.
When asked if another summit would be held this year, Chen said, “the idea was under discussion.”
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