Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday urged South Africa to refrain from publicly opposing Tai-wan's bid to join the UN.
"I feel sad that South Africa has consistently spoken against our UN bid at the UN Steering Committee meetings in recent years, " Lu said while meeting with South African Minister of the Interior Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who arrived in Taipei on Monday.
"If South Africa cannot support our UN bid, I'm hopeful that it can at least maintain neutrality and refrain from publicly speaking against our pursuit," Lu said.
She said the world should not collaborate with China to suppress Taiwan's campaign for UN representation and she asked Buthelezi to speak for Taipei's cause in his government.
Saying "a friend in need is a friend indeed," Lu noted that Taipei used to be South Africa's staunch ally when that country was rebuffed by most of the rest of the world due to its apartheid policy.
It is regrettable that South Africa cut diplomatic ties with Taipei after recognizing Beijing, Lu said.
Worse still, Lu said, the South African government denied her a visa to attend an international meeting of women's affairs in 2000 and rejected a request for President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) plane to make a brief stopover for refueling last year.
"I feel sad that South Africa turned down its old friend's simple requests just out of fear of offending Beijing," she said.
She said the government and people of Taiwan still treat South Africa as a good friend, noting that there are 600 Taiwanese-financed companies in manufacturing and service industries in South Africa with a total capital investment of US$1.5 billion.
Lu said Taiwanese investors have contributed greatly to South Africa's economic development.
"It is our hope that relations between our two countries can be upgraded through exchanges of visits by senior officials as well as through cultural and civilian exchanges," Lu said.
Buthelezi said he is impressed by Taiwan's economic development and political democratization.
He briefed Lu on his country's development and assured Lu that he will do his utmost to promote bilateral relations and cooperation.
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