In addition to President Chen Shui-bian's (
"In the past, our diplomatic funding was used to help and encourage local private firms to invest in foreign countries, which have diplomatic relations with us. But, this project is funding for the government to get more deeply involved in the process," Cho said.
In response to local newspaper coverage yesterday, which said that Chen was quite upset about the manner in which the project was characterized, Cho decided to organize an extraordinary press conference at the Government Information Office (GIO) around noon yesterday.
He also complained that false complaints, criticisms and news coverage hurt the country's diplomatic work a lot, especially when the president and his delegation are currently visiting Taiwan's allies and trying to anchor the relationship with those countries.
Cho said that the president was planning to announce the "Jung Pang Project" on Sept. 27 but the project was accidentally leaked to the media earlier than scheduled, when GIO Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) was briefing reporters during the presidential trip a few days ago.
"While the president is out there fighting for his county, I think we should give him applause, instead of being sarcastic," Cho said. "In addition, something that concerns the country's security or diplomacy shall be kept low-profile until it is done, but our media loves to put it on their front page in advance. That hurts a lot."
The secretary-general and spokesman said that he would not give details about the "Jung Pang Project" because details of the project will remain confidential. But he said that this project will definitely bind Taiwan and its foreign friends closer.
According to Cho, the total amount of the funding is US$250 million and it is for 12 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan in Central and South America areas. He said the fund will be allocated over "many years," but he did not say how many years that meant.
According to him, since many of Taiwan's allies are located in Central and South America, the government began planning the project a long time ago.
"Technically, the government will actively participate in this project," Cho added.
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