Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (
"We don't see any negligence on the part of the foreign ministry so far. The circumstances were unfavorable and rather unpredictable," Lin Chiou-shan (林秋山), convener of the Control Yuan's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, told the Taipei Times.
Control Yuan member Liao Jiann-nan (
"It looks like it was not the foreign ministry's fault. Affected by the overall circumstances, Taiwan broke with Macedonia. [The foreign ministry made the decision] after exhausting all possible last-ditch efforts and our national dignity was safeguarded," Liao said.
Tien's report concerned Taiwan's withdrawal from Macedonia after the two countries broke ties on June 18, a move that reduced the number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies to 28.
Tien denied allegations that Taiwan had offered US$100 million in aid to the crisis-torn Balkan state since both countries established diplomatic ties in January 1999, Lin said. "The aid is estimated to have amounted to less than US$10 million," Lin said.
Aside from bilateral agreements that are perceived as mutually beneficial, such as the agreement on the protection of foreign investment, the agreement on avoidance of double taxation and the customs cooperation agreement, the rest of the agreements and government-led cooperation programs have been brought to a halt, Lin told reporters as he briefed them on Tien's report.
Investment conducted by the private sector in Macedonia, however, was not a matter for the government to intervene in, Lin said.
Lin said that the foreign minister had said that the political stability of the country in question would serve as a major consideration when the ministry considered establishing diplomatic ties.
Foreign ministry officials attending the meeting also included Peter Cheng (
Ties between Taipei and Skopje saw signs of instability after the May 13 government reshuffle in the Macedonian capital that saw the integration of anti-Taiwan forces into the coalition government.
Taiwan and Macedonia established diplomatic ties in January 1999 without notifying then Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov. Angered by the accord, China broke off ties with Macedonia the following month and vetoed the continuation of a UN peacekeeping mission in Macedonia as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Foreign ministry officials admit that the loss of Macedonia as a diplomatic ally was a setback. Officials add that, with the shift in the strategic concerns of the crisis-torn Balkan state, Skopje's switch of recognition from Taipei to Beijing was inevitable.
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