Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) said yesterday that the nation has suffered no harm since proposing a “diplomatic truce” with China, but pledged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would not be slack and would focus on Taiwan’s participation in the WHO.
Ou made the remarks at a reception for the media in which he defended President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) strategy of seeking a “diplomatic truce”with Beijing.
“In order to remove the ultimate cause of Taiwan’s diplomatic predicament, the best way is to improve cross-strait relations,” Ou said, adding that China had no reason not to accept the truce as it was in Beijing’s national interest.
Admitting that it was very difficult for Taiwan to participate in international organizations at present, Ou said that “the Foreign Ministry will gather its strength in one direction — that is the WHO bid.”
“We hope that concrete results will be realized in two to three years,” he said.
Ou said that participation in international organizations was a complicated issue for Taiwan that would take time to achieve. Therefore, the ministry would treat the issue as a long-term objective and would do all it could to achieve the goal.
Noting that the concept of a “diplomatic truce,” one of the major underpinnings of Ma’s new diplomatic policy, had been criticized and questioned by many people, Ou reiterated that the strategy did not mean the ministry would take a vacation and that everything that needed to be done was being carried out.
“The ‘diplomatic truce’ is just a strategy and a means to pursue diplomatic co-existence and co-prosperity, which is exactly what President Ma’s ‘modus vivendi’ means,” he said.
“Modus vivendi comes in many forms, the most concrete of which is the diplomatic truce,” Ou said, adding that “there would be no co-existence and co-prosperity if the diplomatic strife between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait continues.”
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