The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) was responsible for the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s (MOFA) initial rejection of offers of foreign aid following Typhon Morakot.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊), however, remained adamant that Su had nothing to do with MOFA’s handling of the disaster.
MOFA has been criticized for issuing instructions on Aug. 11 — three days after Typhoon Morakot battered the south of the country — instructing all overseas representative offices and embassies to turn down offers of foreign aid except for monetary donations.
The document led to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) offering to resign and now it appears that Ou will also soon be out of a job.
The DPP and even some members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have said, however, that the real culprit behind the blunder was Su, who had knowledge of an offer of help made by the US on Aug. 10, but chose to decline it.
MOFA has repeatedly said the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the NSC were not informed about the document before it was sent and has said that it would shoulder responsibility for the trouble caused by the controversy.
“We strongly believe that the Presidential Office and the NSC must have known about the document. The whole of MOFA, not just the minister, has become a scapegoat for Su’s mistake,” said Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), the DPP’s acting spokesman.
Chao called on Su to “stop hiding behind Ma” and come forward, call a press conference and disclose to the public the dialogue that occurred between the NSC and MOFA that prompted the ministry’s Department of Information and Cultural Affairs to send out the document.
Ou told reporters yesterday afternoon that he could “responsibly” vouch for Su, who had no prior knowledge of the document and that the NSC and MOFA continued to enjoy smooth and open communications.
“I don’t wish to comment further on the issue. We all have a good understanding of what happened. The facts are very clear,” Ou said.
Ou has said he would take responsibility for MOFA’s oversight, but that does not necessarily mean he would resign.
When asked by reporters how he planned to take responsibility if he wasn’t going to step down as minister, Ou replied: “If you like, you can interpret it that I have resigned.”
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