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Office plays down talk of Chen trip to Central America

Taiwan's Washington office has received no information about a rumored Latin American trip by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in August in the wake of Costa Rica's switch of allegiance to China, and there is no indication that Costa Rica's move will lead to a "domino effect" in Central America, Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US, said on Thursday.

Speaking to Taiwan's Washington press corps at his monthly "tea party" press conference, Wu said that he was notified by Foreign Minister James Huang (黃志芳) about Costa Rica's planned switch to Beijing two days earlier. But he said he did not contact the US government or try to get involved.

Wu told the Taipei Times afterwards that he was concerned over the possibility of a domino effect, "but I don't see any indication that it will happen."

"That doesn't mean that we don't work hard on that. In fact, we do work hard to make sure that it does not happen," he said.

"The important thing in Taiwan's relations with other countries is that we try to make our assistance in the areas that are necessary for the economic development of those countries. We don't just offer them a bundle of money to recognize Taiwan and disregard their need for economic development," he said.

Taiwan's need for diplomatic relations with as many countries as possible is intimately tied to the nation's efforts to gain international recognition and participation, Wu said.

"If you look at all those international organizations where Taiwan is not a member, we need somebody to speak out on Taiwan's behalf. So if we continue to believe that our international participation is very important, then we need to maintain our diplomatic relations with these countries," he said.

He may have had in mind Costa Rica's "no" vote when the WHA, meeting last month, rejected a proposal to discuss Taiwan's bid for membership of the organization.

Wu said he has not talked with the Chinese ambassador in Washington about the Costa Rica issue.

On the possibility of a trip by Chen to Latin America, there is speculation that any such trip could raise some ticklish issues about Chen's possible transit in the US en route to Central America and back, in view of his statements in a speech delivered at a National Press Club teleconference late last month.

The State Department is known to be unhappy about Chen's remarks about Taiwan's sovereignty and his interpretation of the Taiwan Relations Act, and it is not clear how that reaction would impact Chen's inevitable requests for transit visas to and from Central America, and how vehemently China would complain about any transit arrangements.

The Nelson Report, an authoritative newsletter on Washington matters related to China, this week said that US officials viewed Chen's speech as "not helpful," and said it represented a "missed opportunity" to build support for the Democratic Progressive Party with the Bush administration.
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