Wed, Jul 24, 2002 page3

• Lawmakers endorse move to cut ties with Nauru

  • By Crystal Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Lawmakers of all stripes yesterday threw their weight behind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' decision to cut diplomatic ties with Nauru, saying that national dignity was on the line.

  While sympathetic to the diplomatic predicament facing Taiwan, opposition legislators, however, renewed the call for the government to quit "checkbook" diplomacy, noting that the strategy has proven to be ineffective.

  KMT Legislator Sun Kauo-hwa (孫國華), a convener of the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, said that Taiwan should indeed "go its own way" given China's unrelenting effort to isolate it from the international community.

  Sun said he supported the severing of ties with Nauru, which plans to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in exchange for US$130 million in financial aid.

  He painted the latest diplomatic setback as a deliberate attempt on the part of Beijing to embarrass President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

  "That explains why China chose to sign a joint communique with Nauru, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, on Sunday when Chen took over as DPP chairman," Sun added.

  Saying Taiwan is no match for the communist state in terms of its natural resources and national budget, he urged the government to handle foreign affairs based on the principles of "safety, existence and development."

  PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) said the severing of diplomatic ties is appropriate.

  "China may go ahead and seek to steal diplomatic allies from the ROC," he said in a statement. "But we will not tolerate any efforts to trample on the nation's dignity. The legislature will give its full support to the foreign ministry in dealing with this matter."

  The PFP lawmaker, however, questioned the wisdom of courting tiny, impoverished diplomatic allies with offers of financial aid.

  "I see little benefit from making friends with those countries," he said.

  "Some of these allies have ceased to speak for the ROC before the UN. It is time the government overhauled its foreign policy."

  Sun Ta-chien suggested that the foreign ministry place a greater emphasis on non-governmental organizations through which Taiwan may bolster its international profile.

  Independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (陳文茜), normally a vocal critic of the Chen administration, said that the latest Chinese diplomatic aggression will only anger people here.

  "China, eager to become a world economic power, can use the money [given to Nauru] to develop its west," said Chen, who co-chairs the legislative committee on foreign affairs.

  She called on her opposition colleagues to help the government stand up to diplomatic blackmail.

  According to the independent lawmaker, various aid programs eat up more than 54 percent of the foreign ministry's annual budget. The country has to pay US$900 million in interest payments for various foreign loans, she noted.

  "If opposition parties find the practice unworthy, they should help end it," and abstain from blaming the government for the loss of diplomatic allies, Chen urged.

  DPP headquarters said later in the day that it has always opposed trading money for diplomatic recognition.

  Newly installed DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said he agreed with the foreign ministry's decision to terminate all aid programs to Nauru.

  He also warned Beijing to quit suppressing Taiwan diplomatically, reiterating that bullying tactics will only drive the two sides further apart.
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