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Allies will not send heads of state to Beijing Olympics

The nation’s 23 diplomatic allies will not send heads of state or vice presidents to the Aug. 8 opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said yesterday.

All of Taiwan’s allies — 12 in Central America and South America and the Caribbean, six in the Pacific, four in Africa and the Holy See — received invitations from China to attend the opening ceremony.

But they will only send lower-level sports officials or Olympic Committee chairs to the event — while some countries won’t send any officials at all, MOFA officials said.

AFRICAN ALLIES

Andrew Chang (張雲屏), director-general of MOFA’s Department of African Affairs, said African allies will only send officials involved in sports affairs or Olympic Committee chairs for the opening.

Lee Tsung-fen (李宗芬), deputy director-general of the Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said that among the six allies in the Pacific area, only the Solomon Islands and the Republic of Nauru will send officials to attend the opening ceremony.

The two countries have assured Taiwan that the attendance of their sports officials at the opening ceremony is simply for the sake of sports exchanges, and has no political significance, Chang said.

AMERICAS

Simon Ko (柯森耀), director-general of the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, said only two of the 12 allies in the region will send officials in sports affairs or Olympic committee chairs for the ceremony.

Another MOFA official speculated that the heads of state of many Latin American and Caribbean allies had turned down China’s invitation probably because they plan to attend the inauguration of Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo and Dominican Republic President-elect Leonel Fernandez, scheduled for Aug. 15 and 16, respectively.

Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said on July 23 that Ma will travel to the US on Aug. 12 on a commercial flight, then take charter flights to Paraguay and the Dominican Republic for the presidential inauguration ceremonies.

He will return to Taiwan on Aug. 19.

MOFA official said that the Holy See, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe, is likely to send the Bishop of Hong Kong for the Olympics opening ceremony.
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