According to reports on Australian journalist Graham Davis’ news blog Grubsheet Feejee and the New Zealand-based Asia Pacific Report Web site, two members of the Chinese embassy in Fiji on Oct. 8 gate-crashed Taiwan’s Double Ten National Day celebration to take pictures of the guests. When members of the Taipei Trade Office in Fiji asked them to leave, the Chinese diplomats reportedly assaulted one of the Taiwanese officials.
Surprisingly, the office did not mention the incident in its press release after the party, which raises a series of questions.
When was Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) first told about the incident? If he also learned about it from the Asia Pacific Report 11 days later, then Taiwan’s representative office should be punished for withholding information.
If the office did provide a truthful account of the event before it was reported in the news, then Wu should take responsibility for withholding it from the public.
Faced with China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy, Wu should let Taiwanese know what kind of diplomacy Taiwan has adopted: hedgehog-style or ostrich-style?
It makes sense that the offender would want to settle a dispute and calm things down after such an event, but why is Taiwan’s representative office, the victim, trying to downplay the incident?
Before reporting to the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday last week, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) criticized the Chinese diplomats for behaving like gangsters, but added that because Taiwan does not have diplomatic relations with Fiji, it cannot make a big deal out of it.
Unlike the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which condemned the Chinese side and demanded an apology and punishment for the offenders, Su’s humble remarks were simply unbearable.
Since the Taiwanese diplomat was carrying out his official duties when he was hit by the Chinese diplomats, was that not also a slap in Taiwan’s face?
If it had not been for foreign media reporting the event, would the ministry have told the public, or would it have been too afraid?
Should the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply endure China’s abuse as it acts like a thug and bullies Taiwan, or should the ministry call an international news conference and denounce the violence?
When 20-year-old Taiwanese entertainer Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) sang the Chinese song My Motherland (我的祖國) at China’s National Day celebration on Oct. 1, Su defended her, saying that she is just a young woman who had no choice but to yield to Beijing to make a living.
The “young woman” clearly knows how to curry favor with the Chinese government, so why would Su defend her? What is the difference between him and a slave who helps count the money for the person who sold him into slavery?
People often say that diplomacy is an extension of domestic policy. Is it because Su is so considerate of pro-China entertainers that the foreign ministry is acting so weak and refuses to fight back when hit?
For the sake of personal gain, Taiwanese entertainers such as Huang An (黃安), Fanny Liu (劉樂妍) and Ouyang continue to curry favor with China while they hurt, trample on and sell out Taiwan. Of course other entertainers learn from them.
Since Taiwanese law can do nothing about it, when will the legislature take action and amend legislation?
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired associate professor at National Hsinchu University of Education.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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