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Editorial: Wanted: a new kind of diplomacy

In the past when Taiwan's diplomatic personnel returned to Taipei for routine consultations, they behaved as if they were vacationing. They wined and dined, filling up their stomachs while emptying out their heads, before going abroad again. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently changed this practice. The ministry rounded up all of its diplomats back in town for routine consultations and herded them into one-week seminars. The diplomats heard some tough talk from Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) and National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) about the need to revitalize and refocus the nation's diplomatic efforts.

Diplomacy is challenging work to begin with. Due to Taiwan's unique circumstances, enhanced flexibility is needed. But the foreign ministry is plagued by conservativism. Personnel who came up through the ranks under the KMT administration have proven to be stumbling blocks to the DPP's diplomatic efforts. Given that the bulk of the diplomats' work overseas involves dealing with visitors from Taiwan, newcomers quickly lose their enthusiasm. How can individuals with this kind of morale and mentality handle the intensive diplomatic combat needed to counteract China's efforts to constrain Taiwan?

Two years ago the people chose a new navigator, who has taken the country in a new direction. But the ministry's personnel have not kept pace. As a result, the Presidential Office is bypassing the ministry and giving the responsibility for overseeing some foreign affairs to the National Security Council. Actually, the Chen administration is following former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) lead in this regard. Lee bypassed the ministry several times, including the 1996 missile crisis and a US$300 million aid package for Kosovo.

Breaking down the out-dated foreign-affairs mentality is key for the DPP. China is central to Taiwan's diplomacy. Chen Shih-meng's statement that "the two sides of Taiwan Strait are not Siamese twins, but fraternal twins" neatly summed up the historical ties and the independent sovereignties of the two sides of the Strait. His comment should also serve as a wake-up call to those diplomatic personnel blinded by the "Great China" myth.

Given the disparity in their sizes, Taiwan will surely lose out to China under traditional rules. So any hope of victory can only come through unconventional means, the kind of street-fighting strategy the DPP used to beat the KMT. Chiou was the mastermind of the those strategies. He advocates an offensive strategy, more overseas travel by senior ministers -- who face less restrictions than the president, vice president or premier -- and standing up for Taiwan's rights. Only through such methods can Taiwan avoid the kind of bullying it has been subjected to at APEC and the UN in the past.

But an even more fundamental problem hampering diplomacy is a lack of agreement on a national identity and the unification-independence debate. Taiwan's political parties have all demonstrated an inability to place national interests above their own. PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) went so far as to criticize the president for visiting "places where not even the birds would lay eggs," while Chen was on his African journey. Such petty back-stabbing and lack of tact does little to help Taiwan's international standing. If given the chance, the president should discuss this issue with opposition leaders if they actually agree to attend a proposed leadership summit.
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