Minister of Foreign Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) yesterday apologized twice for a leaked internal memo instructing all overseas offices and embassies not to accept foreign aid except for cash, but hinted that the ministry was not solely to blame.
Ou returned from an extended overseas trip last night, but the ministry remained tight-lipped on his itinerary, when he left the country and the purpose of his trip.
Sources said that Ou left prior to Typhoon Morakot on Aug. 8 and was in Europe and Eastern Asia to attend regional working meetings.
Taiwan’s only European ally is the Vatican and it has no diplomatic ties with any countries in East Asia.
Ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told reporters the ministry would disclose details of Ou’s trip “sooner or later.”
CRITICISM
The ministry came under heavy fire last week and was accused of lying about its issuance of an internal memo asking all overseas offices and embassies to decline foreign assistance except for money.
The memo was published by the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper one day after the government swore it never closed the door to foreign aid.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) said the memo was poorly worded, adding that the document should have read Taiwan “temporarily” declines foreign help.
LIU ANGERED
Hsia said he would shoulder all the blame because he was the acting minister while Ou was away. Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), apparently angered by the blunder, ordered the ministry to get to the bottom of the matter and punish those responsible for the document.
Both Ou and Hsia, however, said the ministry’s only role was to communicate to the international community the requests for aid it receives from the Central Emergency Operation Center.
Demerits will be handed out to any staff responsible for the oversight, Ou said, adding that Hsia was a great asset to the ministry and that he would be sad to see his deputy go if it came to that.
UN BID
In related news, the ministry continued to dodge questions on Taiwan’s UN strategy this year after the deadline to pitch a UN bid to the General Assembly passed three days ago.
Paul Chang (章文樑), the director-general of Department of International Organizations, was unavailable for comment.
Hsia on Thursday said the ministry would reveal the government’s UN plan sometimes this week.
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