The world should denounce the actions of Chinese embassy staffers in Fiji against a Taiwanese diplomat during a National Day celebration in Suva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday as it thanked the Fijian government for its help after the Oct. 8 incident.
Two Chinese diplomats tried to force their way into a celebration held by the Taipei Trade Office in Fiji at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva on Oct. 8, and a Taiwanese diplomat who tried to stop them taking photographs suffered a head injury.
MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing that the ministry had reported the incident to Fijian police, who are investigating it together with the Fijian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Asked if MOFA would file a lawsuit against the Chinese diplomats, Ou said that filing a police report was the first step, and the ministry has prepared related documentation if further action is needed.
China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy, which has engendered ill feeling from many countries, has become “gangster diplomacy,” but it keeps telling lies to cover up other lies it has told, she said.
Other nations should jointly denounce the Chinese embassy’s actions, as what happened to Taiwan might happen to them, she said.
Taiwan is a “peace-loving country” that invites people to events around the world for Double Ten National Day, and it would continue to do so, she said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) told lawmakers on Monday that the incident is complicated, because the Fijian government wanted to downplay it.
The English-language Fiji Times yesterday cited Fijian Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu as saying that the police “will not be conducting further investigations” as the case is being handled at diplomatic level, as agreed by all parties involved.
Asked about Tudravu’s comment, Ou said the incident involves diplomatic concerns, and the Fijian government has negotiated between Taiwan and China, adding that Taipei and Suva maintain smooth communications.
Later in the day, MOFA issued a statement saying that the Fijian foreign ministry had dealt fairly with the incident and protected the Taipei office’s rights, which it respected.
It thanked the Fijian government for promising to send personnel to assist at the Taipei office’s future public events.
Premier Su Tseng-chang said earlier in the day that the world needed to see what China was capable of.
“China’s officials posted overseas are acting like hooligans; beating people is not acceptable,” he told reporters.
However, the issue was hard to deal with because the Chinese diplomats in Fiji have diplomatic immunity, Su said.
“However, we must appeal to the international community with the relevant evidence,” he added.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) supports all the measures taken by MOFA, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) quoted her as saying.
MOFA came in for some criticism by lawmakers yesterday.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) voiced concern that people in Taiwan first heard of the incident after it was reported by foreign media.
MOFA should reflect on its handling of the incident, Lin said.
The caucus would ask KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), one of the conveners of the Foreign and National Defense Committee, to arrange for Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to deliver a special report on the incident, Lin said.
If China refuses to acknowledge the existence of the Republic of China (ROC), the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could eliminate all exchanges without seeking further communication, he said.
Cross-strait peace and stability rely on the joint efforts of the two sides, so Taiwan should make its appeal that the so-called “one China” includes the ROC’s assertion, he said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) questioned why MOFA did not discuss the incident until it was reported by foreign media 11 days later.
Jang also condemned the actions of the Chinese diplomats, saying that they would not help advance cross-strait peace.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui, Hsieh Chun-lin and Reuters
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a