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Ou chides Japan envoy over comment

Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) yesterday said that Japanese Representative to Taiwan Masaki Saito's behavior was not fitting of a diplomat, joining a growing chorus of criticism over the envoy's remark about Taiwan's “unresolved” status.

Speaking at a luncheon in Taipei, Ou said because Saito is a government representative, he could not claim he was only expressing his personal views.

“As a career diplomat, I thought his speech and conduct were inappropriate for a public servant. As a representative of a government, he has no room to make any personal statements. Everything he says represents his government. We believe he will deal with the mistakes he has committed,” Ou said.

Saito has been the subject of scorn of Beijing and the Taiwanese government since he told an academic forum in Chiayi County on Friday that Taiwan's status had “not been determined.”

Saito's comments, however, have won plaudits from independence activists who support his view.

Yesterday's luncheon, in which Ou was the only invited speaker on the subject of flexible diplomacy, was jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Global Views monthly magazine.

Ou said one of the tenets of President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) flexible diplomacy was to engage in a diplomatic truce with Beijing.

The truce, he said, benefits Taiwan, China and the international community.

During the six-decade-long period of cross-strait hostilities, he said, both Taiwan and China engaged in nasty tug-of-wars to lure away each other's allies, which produced negative results for Taipei, Beijing and the international community.

“Although China successfully blocked Taiwan's international participation, it also ignited anti-China sentiment among the Taiwanese public,” he said.

“Taiwan's struggle for independence never came to fruition during the eight years of Democratic Progressive Party rule. Taiwan lost nine allies but only gained three,” he said.

“Mutual trust with non-ally countries, such as the US, Japan and European nations, also deteriorated,” he said.

Ou said the US “appreciated” Ma's decision to maintain a low profile when he transited through the US on his way to and back from Latin America in August.

“Foreign relations must be constantly cultivated by our representatives and ambassadors. It is not something a transit stop by a high-ranking official can do,” he said.

He added that the Ma administration would not engage in “transit diplomacy,” “vacation diplomacy,” or “mystery destination diplomacy,” referring to 2006 when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) deviated from his publicized itinerary by making stops at several non-ally nations on a visit to Paraguay.

Ou assured the audience that despite the current detente on the diplomatic front, Taiwan retains its diplomatic muscle and would be ready to compete against China if Beijing ever pulls out of the truce.
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