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‘Truce’ paying off: Presidential Office

The Presidential Office yesterday hailed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) proposed “diplomatic truce” with Beijing, saying if it were not for Ma’s initiative, Beijing might have snatched away Taiwan’s diplomatic ally Paraguay.

A senior Presidential Office official, who requested anonymity, said the main difference between Ma’s foreign policy and that of the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was that the DPP could not resolve the source of the problem: cross-strait relations.

“The DPP government secured three new diplomatic allies, but lost nine,” he said. “While the DPP administration cared a lot about the number of diplomatic allies, it lost more than it added.”

The official said Ma’s proposal offered another option — that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should refrain from poaching each other’s allies and use their limited resources on more meaningful issues.

“If we don’t get any friendly response, we can always go back to the old approach. But do we really want to do that, taking into account the difficult situation we are in?” the official said.

There was no formula or indicator to gauge whether Beijing has offered sufficient goodwill, he said, but cross-strait relations are developing in a stable direction.

The remarks came in response to a report in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday that said Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo had said his government would change its Taiwan policy and no longer vote in favor of Taiwan’s UN bid.

The official said what Lugo was quoted as saying would never happen, because the UN has never voted on Taiwan’s UN application since Taipei began reapplying in 1993. Nor would Lugo’s comment have any impact on this bid or have a domino effect on other allies, he said.

In addition, Lugo did not say Paraguay would switch ties to Beijing, so bilateral ties are apparently strong and Lugo’s reported comments should not be seen as a sign that bilateral ties would be cut, the official said.

An Associated Press (AP) report quoted Lugo, who was inaugurated just two weeks ago, as saying in a TV interview on Sunday night that Paraguay would forgo its support for Taiwan’s UN bid this year.

“We will no longer vote [at the UN] for Taiwan despite the fact we recognize the aid the country has provided,” the AP quoted Lugo as saying, adding that he wanted to maintain diplomatic relations with all countries of similar interest.

“Paraguay’s foreign policy will be independent under my government and will not accept conditions,” Lugo was quoted as saying.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday that relations with Paraguay remain stable. The Paraguayan embassy told the Taipei Times that it had not received any information to the contrary from Asuncion.

Lugo’s remarks, said Simon Ko (柯森耀), head of the ministry’s Department of Central and South American Affairs, “should not be taken as an indication of Taiwan’s ties with Paraguay.”

Lugo has on many occasions promised the alliance would continue to grow under his leadership, Ko said.

Ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said many of Taiwan’s allies had not supported Taiwan’s UN bid in the past, but remained loyal to Taipei.

This year, rather than seeking UN membership, Taiwan is only asking for “meaningful participation” in activities related to UN agencies.

During his campaign, Lugo repeatedly threatened to end Asuncion’s 51-year friendship with Taipei and switch ties to China, if elected.

However, on the eve of his inauguration, he told a visiting Ma that he would “improve and consolidate relations with Taiwan.”

“The ministry will not attempt to interpret Lugo’s remarks,” Chen said, adding it would keep a close eye on the situation.

“The representative office [in Asuncion] is in the process of trying to find out details about and the background to the [TV] interview,” he said.

The ministry also rebutted AP’s report that the Paraguayan Senate was contemplating a US$71 million aid offer from Taipei.

Taiwan never made such an offer and all foreign aid must first be approved by the legislature, Chen said.

Asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), a former minister of foreign affairs, said the Ma administration “had done a good job” in maintaining the Taiwan-Paraguay ties given Lugo’s pro-China stance.

However, he said the government should review the feasibility of Ma’s “diplomatic truce” strategy should relations with Paraguay be cut.

“The so-called ‘diplomatic truce’ should involve bilateral, not unilateral efforts,” he said. “We must hold negotiations with China regarding this.”

Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) of the DPP said Lugo’s decision not to help with the UN bid was a result of Ma’s “truce.”

“Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo’s action was a slap in the face to Ma. His actions represent a big warning about Ma’s diplomatic truce,” Tsai said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND RICH CHANG
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