In a flare-up at a news conference during an APEC meeting yesterday, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) cut off Taiwan's minister of economic affairs and berated a Taiwanese journalist.
Tang was visibly irked by a question from a Taiwanese journalist about a dispute that has erupted over the Taiwan's representation at the APEC leaders' summit.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
As US Secretary of State Colin Powell and other APEC ministers looked on, Tang silenced Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
"Chairman, chairman," Lin called out to Tang, the host of the event in Shanghai.
Tang snapped back: "This is a meeting for APEC. It is unnecessary to waste everyone's time on the question of Chinese Taipei's representation."
He then took to task the reporter from PowerTV for using the term "Communist China" -- a throwback to the Cold War -- in his question.
Officials from both sides of the Strait continued to blame each other for the unsettled representation issue.
"Instead of following APEC convention and having the courtesy to extend an official invitation to Taiwan, China has tried all means to discourage Taiwan from attending," Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (
Earlier yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (
"To assert Taiwan's national dignity, our goal of participating in the international community and meetings will not change because of the obstacles put up by China," said Chiou I-jen (
Nevertheless, Tang blamed Taiwan for the unresolved dispute. "This question should not have existed in the first place. Taiwan authorities should be held responsible for this," Tang said.
"The issue should not have become a problem. The fact it has become a problem makes one wonder whether there is some political conspiracy involved" on the part of Taiwan.
Tang also said that Taiwan should adhere to a 1991 memorandum of understanding as well as past practice, in which economic rather than political figures represent Taipei at APEC summits.
He also claimed China as the host country of this year's APEC meetings "has treated all APEC members equally," saying each one was welcome at the summit.
But the 1991 memoranda of understanding didn't spell out who would represent Taiwan at the leaders' summit since the first leaders' summit wasn't held until 1993.
Because of the unresolved dispute, Li was forced to cancel his flight to Shanghai due to the lack of invitation from China, Lin said yesterday. "We expected Li would make the trip smoothly," he said.
Since 1993, Taiwan has sent its chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) and its central bank governor to the meeting.
In addition, the nation's top negotiator with China, Koo Chen-fu (
China has said only officials in charge of economic affairs can attend the summit.
"With Li's background as a PhD from Germany and as a man with abundant experience, Li is a very proper candidate," Lin said. "This arrangement has absolutely no political intentions."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an emergency press conference at 10pm yesterday to urge Taiwan to give an invitation to either Li or President Chen.
China has said it would issue an invitation to Taiwan only after the dispute was finalized.
The foreign ministry also protested China's decision to block two Taiwanese ministers from attending a working breakfast yesterday to discuss terrorism issues.
China said the breakfast was only for foreign affairs ministers.
The 1991 memoranda of understanding bar Taiwan's foreign minister and vice foreign minister from participating in APEC.
The Presidential Office, the National Security Council and the foreign ministry -- among other government agencies -- held meetings yesterday to discuss the next move.
But no decision has been made as to whether Taiwan will skip the leaders' summit altogether.
"We would have to wait until [today]," foreign affairs spokeswoman Katharine Chang (
When asked by the Taipei Times to comment on Taiwan's likely absence from the summit, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said he wasn't expecting that outcome. "I wouldn't presume that there was gonna be an absence," Zoellick said.
"The view of my country is that Taiwan should be able to participate fully as in the past, and I hope it can do so," Zoellick said.
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