While China insisted that it was not involved in the Gambia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, lawmakers yesterday demanded that the government review President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policy of “flexible diplomacy” and take precautions to prevent a domino effect in the wake of the incident.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced on Thursday that diplomatic relations with Taiwan would be severed with immediate effective.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) said in response to media queries, said that Beijing was caught unaware by the move and that China was not in contact with the Gambia.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
In Taipei, politicians across party lines cast doubt on the effectiveness of Ma’s policy of “flexible diplomacy” that underpinned the nation’s “diplomatic truce” with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) issued a three-point statement saying that the incident demonstrated the failure of Ma’s policy of “flexible diplomacy” and that the government must immediately engage in crisis management to prevent a domino effect.
The DPP demanded that the government explain in detail why the Gambia cut the ties and that officials in charge of national security and diplomatic affairs resign.
The party also asked Ma to shift his policy away from managing cross-strait relations as a priority to focusing on foreign policy and issues of international and regional concerns.
Meanwhile, government officials, Presidential Office Secretary-General Timothy Yang (楊進添), Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Deputy Vice Foreign Minister Simon Ko (柯森耀), all said that the incident could be attributed more to Jammeh’s “personal characteristics” than either China or Ma’s policy.
Jammeh did not give any reason as to why it has also withdrawn from the Commonwealth after 48 years and that the UK was also in the dark, they said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) asked the government to be vigilant about relationships with El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, saying that all are in danger.
The government should terminate aid projects, which are being implemented in the Gambia, DPP Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) said.
According to DPP Legislator Liu Chao-Hao (劉櫂豪), the aid projects for the Gambia in next year’s government budget were valued at NT$400 million (US$13.5 million).
Jiang did not take the advice, saying that the government would only end the projects — including in the areas of medicine and construction and agriculture — if it fails to retain relations with the Gambia.
Should the government fail to retain ties, about 200 Gambian students studying in Taiwan under scholarship schemes run by the government will not face immediate deportation to the Gambia, Jiang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), an outspoken supporter of “flexible diplomacy,” said the government has to get to the bottom of the situation of whether China broke the tacit agreement that underpinned the policy of “flexible diplomacy.”
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS