Sun, Aug 10, 2008 page3

• INTERVIEW: Ou talks about Taiwan’s ‘diplomatic truce’

  In a departure from the previous government, the administration under President Ma Ying-jeou advocates a ‘diplomatic truce’ and finding a ‘modus vivendi.’ On Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou sat down with ‘Taipei Times’ staff reporter Jenny W. Hsu and offered his views on Taiwan’s diplomacy and the strategy his ministry is using to help expand Taiwan’s international space

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  Taipei Times: Some people have accused the administration of being “naive” in believing that Beijing will exercise goodwill toward Taiwan based on the so-called “diplomatic truce.” What’s your response? Also, can you define just exactly what a “diplomatic truce” is?
  

  
  

  Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊): In fact, a “diplomatic truce” was a concept that I proposed many years ago. For a long time, Taiwan’s diplomacy focused on maintaining relations with our existing allies and fostering warmer ties with important non-allies such as the US, Japan and the EU. However, we have consistently ignored China, refusing to enter into a dialog with Beijing. We cannot keep blindfolding ourselves by pretending China does not exist.
  

  

  Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou gestures during an interview with the Taipei Times on Thursday.

  PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  
  

  The world trend now is to replace conflict with reconciliation. You will only reap more trouble if you insist on antagonizing [Beijing].
  
  

  To reach cross-strait reconciliation, the most significant layer would of course be on the diplomatic front. Cross-strait harmony would be impossible unless both sides can reconcile over diplomatic issues.
  
  

  Yes, many people have said that it seems like Taiwan is retreating and that Taiwan is “begging” China, but that is absolutely incorrect.
  
  

  To say Taiwan is “begging” China would be to say that Taiwan has a case of “unrequited love” (一廂情願) hoping Beijing would extend its goodwill, which is not at all the case.
  
  

  A diplomatic truce can only take place when both sides offer goodwill. I think a truce in the Strait is highly possible because a continuing antagonism would be damaging to them and to us.
  
  

  Truth be told, many underhanded tactics are used in the diplomatic scuffle. It is not only a monumental waste of money, but also creates animosity from the international community about creating instability in a certain region. For example, Australia has been publicly offended about the China-Taiwan tug-of-war in the South Pacific.
  
  

  On the contrary, positive cross-strait interaction would erase the negative images of both countries and create a win-win situation for both sides. Therefore we should avoid any factors that might discourage a positive interaction. A diplomatic conflict should be the first obstacle removed from preventing improved cross-strait relations.
  
  

  Also, many Chinese leaders have stressed that to resolve the Taiwan Strait issue, [Beijing] must first win the hearts of the Taiwanese people. Thus a conflict with Taiwan would not serve its national interests.
  
  

  On Taiwan’s participation in international organizations: In an era of globalization, world-wide collaboration has become more crucial than ever.
  
  

  Taiwan’s long-standing alienation not only infringes on our rights, the world also suffers from not benefiting from what Taiwan can contribute. Therefore, to the international community, Taiwan’s participation is absolutely necessary.
  
  

  China’s oppression is the only reason why Taiwan is alienated. In recent years, we have gained more sympathy and support from other nations, such as in the case of the WHO. We need to be pragmatic and recognize the crux of the issue.
  
  

  No matter whether you approach it from a pragmatic or a flexible perspective, Taiwan must engage China to solve the dilemma. So it is evident that whether it’s bilateral relations or multilateral relations, Taiwan needs to have a dialog with Beijing.
  
  

  TT: From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ perspective, what kind of goodwill has China extended toward Taiwan since May 20?
  

  
  

  Ou: At the moment, all cross-strait discussions have been focused on economic issues. We have a tacit understanding with Beijing that the harder issues, meaning political issues, will come later.
  
  

  It is quite clear that the Beijing government has heard Taiwan’s concerns. [Chinese President] Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on several occasions said the issue of Taiwan’s international space can be discussed. We can say that is the direction that China is heading.
  
  

  Since we have not launched an official discussion, we can now only try to interpret their intentions which are still unclear to us because sometimes their officials are courteous at international settings, but sometimes not.
  
  

  I think it is because China has not made an internal decision on its future attitude toward Taiwan, but they are very clear over Taiwan’s intentions. However, I am quite sure they also favor the direction of reconciliation.
  
  

  TT: What would Taiwan consider as examples of China’s goodwill?
  

  
  

  Ou: Paraguay is a good example of China’s goodwill. During the election, the Paraguayan president-elect said he would sever relations with Taiwan once he won the seat. But so far we have not heard any more about it. Moreover, he has invited us to attend his presidential inauguration.
  
  

  So far we can say it is all stable, but it does not mean we can relax because, who knows, maybe one day Paraguay will go back on its word.
  
  

  Our diplomatic strategy in the future will not be too different from the past, except that in the past we concentrated too much on gaining new friends but ignored our existing allies. And this is why we lost nine allies but only gained three in the last eight years.
  
  

  Now we will focus our energy on cementing ties with our allies. As part of Taiwan’s goodwill toward China, we will also not approach its allies.
  
  

  TT: Critics have said that Beijing is becoming the one dictating Taiwan’s diplomatic affairs and that Taiwan is retreating.
  

  
  

  Ou: Absolutely not. Taiwan is definitely not retreating, but concentrating on strengthening ties with our existing allies. We want to maintain the current status where Taiwan will not try to lure away Beijing’s allies and Beijing agrees to leave our friends alone.
  
  

  But if Beijing refuses to call a truce, then we will have no choice but to return to the previous ugly fighting, which would be a huge disservice to both sides, as has been proven in the past.
  
  

  TT: Is there a concern that some of Taiwan’s allies might become more interested in establishing ties with Beijing since Taiwan itself has also become more China-friendly?
  

  
  

  Ou: It is a fact that many countries want to lean toward China, but there are also countries that are leaning toward Taiwan. That is the ugliness of a diplomatic scuffle. Therefore to avoid such contention, both sides must uphold goodwill by not moving away from the current status.
  
  

  To me it would be heartbreaking to see the ugliness continue, because it would just be a waste of the taxpayer’s money.
  
  

  TT: President Ma has repeatedly stressed the importance of repairing mutual trust between Taipei and Washington. In your view, how badly was the relationship damaged and how does Taiwan propose to fix it?
  

  
  

  Ou: Because of what happened in the past, the US is still skeptical about whether the new administration is trustworthy or not. US-Taiwan relations deteriorated to the level that there were doubts about Taiwan’s credibility and whether it would honor or default on its promises.
  
  

  In the future, we will consult with the US on major policies to ensure a “surprise-free” relationship that the president has strongly stressed.
  
  

  This is the main reason why we have emphasized that the president’s stopovers in the US will simply be transits on the way to our destinations. No fanfares and no activities, as promised.
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