The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday rejected a report that said voices are mounting within the party arguing that “diplomatic allies are useless” to Taiwan.
According to a report published yesterday by the Chinese-language United Daily News, since China and the Gambia resumed diplomatic ties on Thursday, there have been concerns whether Taiwan would suffer “an avalanche of ruptured diplomatic ties” after the DPP administration assumes office in May.
Pro-DPP academics recently began to say that losing several diplomatic allies in the future would be “within a tolerable limit,” the report said.
It also said some of the academics have even argued that as long as Taiwan retains the support of the US and Japan, the nation’s survival would not be threatened, even if its number of diplomatic allies dropped to zero.
DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) rejected the report as untrue, saying that no one has made such statements, either at meetings of the DPP’s think tank, meetings on international affairs or other advisory meetings.
He said that maintaining good relations with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, fully developing the nation’s foreign ties and enhancing its global status have always been the top goals of the DPP’s foreign policy.
The DPP has pledged on many occasions that after it returns to power, it would do its utmost to consolidate Taiwan’s relations with diplomatic allies and to promote peace, stability and prosperity.
Wang added that Taiwan is willing to contribute positively to the international community and hopes to obtain support and recognition through such efforts.
There have been concerns that, unless president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) complies with Beijing’s demand to acknowledge “one China,” Beijing would restart its efforts to woo Taiwan’s diplomatic allies after a hiatus of eight years under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
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