Macedonia: End comes as no surprise

Legislators across the party spectrum said yesterday that they are not surprised by the severing of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Macedonia as the basis for both nations to establish ties was "shaky" from the start.

Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) of the DPP said that he was not optimistic about the diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Macedonia, since the two established ties in January 1999, especially because Macedonia has been torn by civil war.

The Balkan nation will naturally tilt toward China diplomatically because it needs its support in the UN for sending peacekeeping forces to the nation to help it deal with ethnic Albanian rebels, Chai said.

He also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spends around NT$13.7 billion (US$400.58 million), or half of its budget, to assist more than 20 allies, and urged the government to rethink its diplomatic policy, especially given China's growing economic might.

His colleague Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜) of the DPP said that although the government made last-ditch efforts to salvage diplomatic relations with Macedonia, the severance of ties was inevitable, adding that the public should try to understand the situation.

Legislators from the KMT, People First Party (PFP), and the New Party urged the government not to engage in "money diplomacy" in order to increase its "number of allies," which currently stands at 28, now that Macedonian ties have been cut.

Legislator Lee Sen-zong (李顯榮) of the KMT said that the severing of ties with Macedonia is unfortunate and expressed the hope that the ruling DPP government would continue to make efforts to cement ties with allies.

KMT Legislator, Lee Shang-ren (李先仁), said it is right for the foreign ministry to take the preemptive move by announcing the severance of diplomatic ties after media reports said that the Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva had arrived in China yesterday for to take part in talks with Beijing officials.

He said that Taiwan would at least maintain its national dignity, adding that if it had not done so, it would lose esteem in the eyes of other nations.

He said that the government should not let other countries make irrational requests for assistance, and that the foreign ministry should also do what it can to have the aid money given to Macedonia returned.

Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) of the PFP said that it was predictable that the two countries would sever ties sooner or later. He also said that it was right for the foreign ministry to take the initiative to announce the end of ties.

Chou said that the focus of diplomatic work should be on exchanges between nations and not "an increase in the number of allies."

Legislator Levi Ying (營志宏) of the New Party said that was is time to review the practice of trying to maintain the number of diplomatic allies for the sake of "vanity," especially at a time when Taiwan is not as rich as it used to be.

Macedonia timetable

January 1999

Taiwan and Macedonia established diplomatic ties with our notifying then-Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov.

February 1999

Gligorov refused to accept credentials from Peter Cheng, Taiwan's ambassador to Skopje.

February 1999

China, one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, broke off ties with Skopje and vetoed the continuation of a UN peacekeeping mission in Macedonia in retaliation against Skopje's move to establish diplomatic ties with Taipei.