Upon returning last night from a five-day trip to Indonesia, Vice President Annette Lu (
"I am very glad that I was able to represent, in a dignified manner, all 23 million Taiwanese to visit the Republic of Indonesia during its 57th National Day," she said in brief remarks at CKS International Airport last night.
She said that she had raised Taiwan's profile during the trip and emphasized that the details of the trip were played out according to a plan that had been arranged long in advance.
Lu, the nation's highest-ranking official to ever visit Indonesia, said she chose to visit the archipelago to promote President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) policy of encouraging Taiwanese businesspeople to invest in Southeast Asian countries.
"The Republic of Indonesia is the biggest archipelago in the world, and I hope it can become Taiwan's strategic partner in developing economy and trade," Lu said.
Lu then expressed her appreciation to the government of Indonesia for receiving her despite pressure from China.
"The Republic of Indonesia bravely embraced friendship from Taiwan and is not afraid of pressure from a powerful sovereignty," Lu said.
Meanwhile, Chen praised Lu's performance on the trip.
"Taking Vice President Lu's trip as an example, it is obviously that Taiwan's diplomatic development is always in a dire situation and it faces oppression from China all over the world," Chen said. "Everyone in the country should unite with the government to enhance Taiwan's international visibility, as well as expand Taiwan's space on world stage."
"Everybody can see that Vice President Lu did her best," Chen said. "However, there were still so many cynical comments -- incorrect conjecture within [Taiwan] which struck at our morale, and some people even gloated over [her setbacks] which just confuses the international community and pleases the other side of the Strait," Chen said.
The president then said the country should firmly go its own way and should neither give up, nor be scared by pressure from Beijing.
Lu departed for Jakarta on Wednesday but was denied entry into the capital. She then flew to the resort island of Bali amid sharp protests from Beijing.
On Friday, her trip took a U-turn as she shook off a media chase to embark on a chartered plane to Jakarta, where she was not only allowed to enter the capital, but also met with congressmen and other former and incumbent government officials.
Some reports in Taiwan even said that Lu had met with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Friday evening, although officials in Jakarta denied the reports.
"We did not arrange any meeting between the president and the Taiwan vice president in any form," Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said. "There was nothing, nothing."In the wake of Lu's surprise arrival in Jakarta last Wednesday, the Indonesian foreign ministry issued a stark statement reiterating its "one China" policy, saying the government had not "in any way arranged for [Lu's] visit."
But insiders said that private contacts Lu has established over the years in Indonesia enabled her to make arrangements for the trip.
One of the key players on the Indonesian side was reportedly Indonesian Environmental Minister Nabiel Makarim, a friend of Lu's from when the two were classmates at Harvard Law School in the late 1970s.
Makarim, along with Labor minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, met with Lu in Bali, sources said.
The trip was full of twists and turns, not to mention the media's mixed information as to when and where Lu would go for her next stop, insiders said.
"We were required to make timely adjustments all along the way as the trip was full of changes with each step that was made," a source said.
But the source confirmed that neither Australia nor Subic Bay in the Philippines had ever been on Lu's itinerary.
The source said that Taiwan's "go south" policy and the fact there are around 97,000 Indonesian workers in Taiwan were pivotal bargaining chips Taipei was able to utilize to secure Lu's trip.
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