Staff Reporter, in Asuncion
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Thursday that he was still negotiating with China about a plan to stop Taiwan and China from wooing each other’s diplomatic allies — what he calls his “diplomatic truce” strategy, but critics have dubbed it a “one-sided declaration.”
“If the diplomatic truce turns out to be a successful strategy, it might be possible that we won’t gain any more allies, but we won’t lose any either,” Ma said.
Ma said he understood that some people disagree with the strategy, but the government should still pursue the goal as it is in the interest of Taiwan.
He made the remarks at a press conference held in Asuncion on Thursday.
During his first state visit to attend yesterday’s inauguration of new Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo and today’s inauguration of the re-elected Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, Ma took the opportunity to explain his ideas on the “diplomatic truce.”
Ma said he had gained support for the idea from the diplomatic community in Taiwan, US friends in think tanks, the legislative and executive branches and the country’s allies.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Panamanian President Martin Torrijos had praised the “diplomatic strategy” as a “wise decision” and Lugo called it the “correct direction” during their separate meetings with Ma over the last two days.
Taiwan has 23 diplomatic allies — mostly small nations in Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific — while about 170 countries recognize China.
After assuming office in May, Ma called for a diplomatic truce with China, saying both sides should not compete for recognition by offering large sums of money, a practice critics call “checkbook diplomacy.”
If both sides of the Strait can refrain from engaging in checkbook diplomacy, donations to less developed countries would be purely foreign aid and not part of a vicious competition, Ma said.
Taiwan and China’s checkbook diplomacy battle is often criticized by the international community, but giving donations to less developed countries is what Taiwan should do as it can help resolve problems derived from uneven global development, Ma said.
“As a member of the world, we are obliged to help other countries. Taiwan benefited from aid from the US and other countries in the past,” Ma said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
RSS