Taiwan will continue to push for "all-dimensional" diplomacy and does not want to engage China in a "zero-sum" game, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told delegations from four of Taiwan's diplomatic allies from the Caribbean yesterday.
"Taiwan has no intention of engaging in a zero-sum game with China. We prefer to conduct positive negotiations with it on the basis of equality, mutual interest, rationality and dignity," Chen said.
As a member of the global village, Chen added, Taiwan is willing and has the capability to contribute and give back to the international community.
"While the Republic of China is an independent sovereign state, China has irrationally suppressed our diplomatic space," Chen said. "To rationally and wisely resolve the differences across the Taiwan Strait, we'll continue our efforts in trying to hold peaceful dialogue with Beijing."
Chen said that although the four Caribbean countries were a long way from each other, they had developed sound friendships because they believed in universal values such as democracy, peace, justice and public well-being.
Chen said he was glad Taiwan's democratic development over the past 50 years had received international recognition.
"Two of the important milestones in the history of Taiwan's democratic development were the peaceful transfer of power in May 2000 and the legislative elections on Dec. 1, 2001," he said. "We're more than happy to offer our unique experience and exchange views in this regard with other countries in the world."
Chen expressed his appreciation to the four countries for supporting Taiwan's bids to join international organizations over the years and called on them to continue their backing and assistance in the future.
Chen also pledged to continue providing humanitarian aid to foreign countries.
"We'll continue the foreign aid programs in a transparent and systematic manner," Chen said. "Of course, it's equally important that they receive public support."
Before meeting with Chen, the delegations visited the Government Information Office (GIO) yesterday morning.
David Chen (
Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs Osborne Riviere told the Taipei Times that there had been speculation China wanted to establish diplomatic ties with his country but that it had not offered any substantial incentives.
"They haven't reached that stage yet," Riviere said. "Although one or two territories in the region have in fact moved away from [Taiwan], we and the other four territories have remained friends with Taiwan."
The delegations, which arrived on Monday evening, are here to attend the sixth ROC-Eastern Caribbean Foreign Ministers Conference tomorrow.
The four delegations are from the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The delegations left for Hualien after meeting with Chen. They are due back tonight.
Tomorrow morning, they will meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
The first conference was first held in 1997. Its purpose is to expand and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in politics, trade, economy, culture and education between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies in the East Caribbean.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS