Cementing ties with Taiwan's smaller allies is just as important as solving the diplomatic row with the US over the "defensive referendum," according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新).
Chien, who caved in to pressure from Taiwanese media accusing him of sidestepping the problems now blighting US relations by visiting Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, returned to Taipei yesterday after dropping plans to visit Hawaii. Chien was originally not due to return until tomorrow.
The media uproar over the Chien's Pacific jaunt stands in stark contrast to the muted response it received when the foreign ministry first informed reporters about the trip in December.
Back then, a significant number of TV channels and newspapers showed no interest in signing up reporters to join the delegation, despite proposed meetings with Kiribati President Anote Tong and Marshall Islands President Kessai Note.
It's not surprising that many Taiwanese people think ties with big countries, such as the US and Japan, are more important than relations with tiny allies like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands.
These people, however, need to be reminded that because of the principle of "one country, one vote" that is adhered to by most international bodies, Taiwan needs as much support as it can muster as part of its efforts to join international organizations such as the UN and the World Health Organization.
The US has been a firm supporter of Taiwan's bids to enter the WHO, but it has also reminded Taiwan that no matter how supportive it might be, it still only has one vote in the health body, officials say.
That is why Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, both members of the UN, are important to Taiwan.
"Taiwan's diplomatic situation is very severe," Samuel Chen (
"Although we have many hardships here, we feel all our efforts are worthwhile when we think of how they can contribute to our country's diplomacy," Chen said.
It is difficult for people living in a modern society to imagine what life is like in Kiribati.
Electricity and water supplies are limited and unstable and most people live in primitive conditions.
Eighty percent of the people in Kiribati are unemployed, according to Randy Wang (汪漢源), a counselor in Taiwan's embassy in Kiribati.
The few employment opportunities mean that many Kiribatians raise pigs in wire fences built beside the roadside. For food, people go fishing or collect fruit.
Televisions, phones, computers and other electronic goods which are ubiquitous in modern life are mainly absent in Kiribati.
There are no lamp posts on the country's roads.
"If Kiribati wants to draw investment, it must first improve its electricity supply, develop its telecommunications network and build roads," said Kiven Tsai (
He had first visited Kiribati on a business trip.
Taiwan's financial aid to its small allies is often labeled "checkbook diplomacy," but Chen Lien-gene (陳連軍), Taiwan's ambassador to the Marshall Islands, said that helping these allies was the right thing to do.
Chen said that in the past, Taiwan had received a lot of foreign aid.
"Now we have the ability to help these small countries. Shouldn't we help them as others did to us?" the ambassador asked.
Kiribati President Tong once lived in the Marshall Islands for seven years, Chen said. When Tong returned to the Marshall Islands years later, he was astonished to find just how much the country had improved since it built ties with Taiwan, Chen said.
The significance of this was not lost on the foreign minister.
Chien told reporters during the trip that when Tong was elected president of Kiribati, he was keen to boost development and hoped Kiribati could improve itself with the help of Taiwanese aid.
And when announcing his earlier-than-expected return to Taiwan, Chien told reporters: "Now you have seen what Kiribati is like. Years later, you will all be witnesses to its improvement."
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