Chang present at Seoul inauguration in spite of Beijing

DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) attended the inauguration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday -- a move hailed by the party as a triumph over China's obstructionism.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) dubbed it "a diplomatic triumph," saying the success could only be achieved through the collective efforts of the DPP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Executive Yuan.

Chang left for South Korea on Monday and will return home this evening.

Due to pressure from Beijing, the South Korean government last week rescinded its invitation to Chang on the grounds that it had decided to downplay the inauguration celebrations because of the Daegu subway fire on Feb. 18 that killed more than 126 people and shocked the country.

Despite the lack of official ties, South Korea and Taiwan usually send delegations lead by the head of the ruling party to attend each other"s inauguration ceremonies.

The DPP's another deputy secretary-general, Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), said that the party had been informed of the change last Wednesday by several South Korean lawmakers.

The South Koreans said that China was outraged to learn that Chang was on the inauguration invitation list and threatened to cancel a planned visit by Vice Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛).

The government sought to communicate with South Korea through private channels and Seoul authorities then agreed that Chang's visit could proceed.

However, to keep his trip low-profile, Chang was only accompanied by national policy advisor Lee Tsai-fang (李在方), instead of several legislators has had been originally planned.