Amid criticism of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yu is scheduled to lead a 60-person delegation -- that will include government officials, business and cultural leaders and the media -- to Haiti, Panama, Costa Rica and Belize. The delegation will have a two-day stopover in New York en route to Haiti and a one-day stopover in Los Angeles on the return trip.
The 13-day journey, which is being billed as culture-oriented, will be Yu's first official visit since he took office on Feb. 1.
It is also part of Taiwan's effort to consolidate relationships with its diplomatic allies, especially following the recent defection of Nauru.
Taiwan terminated its 22-year-old diplomatic ties with Nauru on Wednesday after the tiny South Pacific island state established formal relations with China.
China has offered US$60 million in financial aid and US$77 million in debt relief to the country, which has a population of just under 12,000.
In addition to accusing Beijing of choosing the day of Chen's inauguration as the ruling party's chairman to seal the agreement, the premier also criticized Nauru for having requested such a large amount of aid from China even though its population was even smaller than that of a borough in Panchiao, Taipei County.
Deputy Secretary-General to the President Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), on the other hand, was more optimistic.
He said it was a joy to see the government sever ties with Nauru, which he said was on the verge of bankruptcy.
He also lashed out at the Chinese government for exercising "money diplomacy" to woo Taiwan's tiny ally.
"While Taiwan is shaking off `money diplomacy,' China is beginning," he said.
Nevertheless, on the day Wu made those comments, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the government would offer US$55 million in financial aid to one of its diplomatic allies, Haiti, and US$45 million to another, Panama.
Taiwan and Haiti had sealed the cooperation agreements worth US$55 million during a visit to Taiwan earlier this month by Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
"Money diplomacy" or not, Taiwan is under pressure to help its allies, who are also being courted by Beijing.
In response to the public uproar over allegations of "money diplomacy," Wu said that the term should not be used to describe the government's humanitarian efforts.
"There's a difference between offering food or medical aid to a needy country and offering a lump-sum of funds to a country without knowing or caring where or how the money is spent," he said.
The ultimate goal of the government's foreign-aid programs, Wu said, is to improve a country's education, living environment and quality of life.
"It's great if the assisted country wants to establish diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but it's not the end of world if it doesn't," he said.
No matter what the government calls it -- "money diplomacy" or humanitarian aid -- it seems that financial assistance is an effective way for Taiwan to secure or maintain its diplomatic relations.
When Taiwan resumed diplomatic ties with Nicaragua in November 1990, Taiwan's government pledged US$100 million to seal the agreement. In August 1997, Taiwan offered the same amount of money to resume relations with Chad. And in May 1997, it cost Taiwan US$30 million to establish diplomatic relations with Sao Tome and Principe.
To cement the ties with Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Central America, the government agreed in 1998 to set aside US$240 million for financial assistance to six countries in the region.
Brushing aside criticism that Taiwan spends too much money on its 27 diplomatic allies, Wu said that the spending is obviously insufficient.
"While the UN recommends that the amount of foreign aid a country offers should be worth 0.7 percent of the country's GDP, Taiwan's foreign aid accounts for only 0.14 percent of its GDP," he said.
Chiu Hei-yuan (
"I don't understand why the government spends so much money to maintain relationships with its diplomatic allies," he said. "Wouldn't it be more practical to spend the effort and money on those countries which are not our diplomatic allies but instead have tremendous amount of impact in the international arena?"
It is time to think seriously about the country's diplomatic policies, Chiu said.
"The government should start thinking practically and stop wasting its time and money and getting nowhere," he said.
Emile Sheng (
"It's widely known that China is the major problem hampering Taiwan's diplomacy. It just doesn't sound smart to compete with it in the money game, trying to win over a friend," he said. "The government should educate the public that it doesn't matter how many diplomatic allies Taiwan has because the number doesn't have much meaning at all."
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