Foreign minister says Taiwan officials not to blame

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) aborted trip to Indonesia continued to grip the nation yesterday as top diplomats denied allegations linking the failure to a turf wrangle among government agencies.

Despite earlier denials, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) told a legislative committee that the president did cancel a journey to the Indonesian island of Bali on Sunday.

He said leaks by top Indonesian officials, instead of leaks from Taiwanese officials, prompted China to pressure Indonesia over the trip, and Chen opted to call the journey off to avoid humiliating treatment abroad.

"The ministry had no choice but to deny knowledge of the planned visit in keeping with an agreement between the governments," Chien said before the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee.

He refused to shed light on the purposes of the journey except that Vice Foreign Minister Michael Kao (高英茂) was originally slated to accompany the president during the trip. "Whatever we planned to accomplish has no chance of being realized now that the trip has been scrapped," the minister said.

Kung Hai-jung (孔海榮), a Taiwanese lawyer based in Indonesia, who helped arrange the visit, pinned the blame on the administration's unwillingness to make the necessary accommodations.

The lawyer made the brief remark before checking out of a hotel in Taoyuan on Sunday morning. He is believed to have played a key role in arranging Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) Indonesian trip in August.

Some media reports speculated the foreign ministry did not see eye-to-eye with national security officials over the ill-fated trip because the foreign ministry was displeased about being kept in the dark.

But Chien shrugged off the claims as false.

He said the ministry was well aware of the incident and that the government would not allow any private individuals to plan the itinerary of the president or other ranking officials.

"Reports that bureaucratic infighting thwarted the president's Indonesian trip are simply not true," the minister said. "[Indonesia's] Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X told reporters about Chen's planned visit on Friday, which triggered a strong protest from China."

To placate Beijing, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda reiterated yesterday visits by Taiwanese officials are not welcome.

Chien, however, declined to comment if the diplomatic setback would impact bilateral ties.

"The whole incident is still under review and President Chen has expressed that he wishes it will soon end," he said.

The minister stressed that diplomatic protocol is the government's chief concern when it arranges overseas trips for Chen.

"It is the ministry's responsibility to see to it that the president always travels under the principles of dignity, comfort, convenience, and safety -- among which dignity is the most important," he told lawmakers.

Unconvinced, the KMT legislative caucus demanded Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, step down for lying to the public about the Indonesian trip.

Wu said Saturday the president had no intention of visiting Indonesia and that he would have his head chopped off if he lied about it.

KMT Legislator Sun Kauo-hwa (孫國華) said Wu should resign right away on grounds he has diminished the government's credibility by telling such a blatant lie.