Macedonia: Loss of diplomacy links deals big blow to DPP prestige

The loss of Macedonia as an ally yesterday dealt the first diplomatic blow to the DPP government, which basked in President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) landmark transit through the US to Latin America only weeks ago.

The setback is bound to spark soul-searching on the part of the diplomatic team, but the president is unlikely to make a radical modification of foreign policy, observers said.

"Credibility is a pivotal asset in dealing with other countries," said Andrew Chang (張雲平), a foreign ministry official.

"An abrupt or major turnabout is not in Taiwan's national interests."

Chen, struggling to minimize instability caused by the power transfer, has agreed to continue all aid programs pledged by the preceding administration to foreign allies.

Indeed, continuity has characterized his foreign policymaking for the last 13 months.

To break Beijing's diplomatic strangulation, the country under former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) embraced a more pragmatic approach whereby Taiwan no longer competed for the right to represent China in the international arena.

In 1991, the country joined APEC under the name of "Chinese, Taipei."

"As long as its dignity is not violated, Taiwan is willing to compromise in order to participate in international activities," Chang said.

Fortunately, the country has managed to put up an impressive economic showing. Trading partners cannot ignore Taiwan, which ranks as the world's 14th-largest trading nation. This affluence also allows it to make friends abroad, frequently through the provision of loans and other aid projects.

The country has pumped about US$150 million into Macedonia over the last two years. Plagued by internal ethnic uprising, the Balkan state decided to return to Beijing's fold, leaving only 28 countries that keep full diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

"It is time for the foreign ministry to realize that the number of diplomatic allies is not what matters," DPP lawmaker Parris Chang (張旭成) said. "An increase in number is no guarantee of of qualitative breakthrough."

Chang, an international affairs expert, raised no objection to Chen following the KMT blueprint but called for a stiffer standard to evaluate and oversee aid programs. "Funds used to build power stations, water reservoirs and hospitals are well spent," he said. "They would be wasted if they were used to build private swimming pools or channeled to individual pockets."

Foreign aid costs the country NT$13 billion each year, or half of the foreign ministry's annual budget.

Fellow Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) echoed similar ideas, saying the country might as well do without allies if they can't help Taiwan promote its international profile, strengthen its national security, or bolster its economic growth.

"Not that small allies are unimportant, but ties with big countries such as the US produce more substantial benefits," he said, warning against securing another ally, such as Bolivia, to make up for the loss of Macedonia.

Last month, the US pledged to help Taiwan seek accession to the WHO as an observer. Scholars are optimistic that the international community will rally to the US proposal. Johan Chiu (裘兆琳), a research fellow at Academia Sinica, for one, gave her thumbs-up to the one-foot-in-first tactic.

"An observer's status is an important step if full membership proves unattainable," she said.