The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it is trying to get the facts behind why Bangladesh recalled its ambassador to Beijing. A Bangladeshi official said on Wednesday the move was caused by a row over an agreement allowing Taiwan to set up an office in Dhaka.
"Ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman has been called for consultation to straighten things out, following reports of Taiwan opening a liaison office in Dhaka and to assess China's way of thinking at this stage," a Bangladesh foreign ministry official said.
The row started after Taiwan last month said it had been given clearance to open a liaison office in Bangladesh to provide visas and consular services.
The Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the controversy arose because the state-run Board of Investment gave the go-ahead to Taiwan without consulting the foreign ministry on the sensitive matter.
Bangladesh officially denied the existence of the Taiwanese office and stressed it recognized only Beijing, a major donor and military supplier to the South Asian country.
The foreign ministry official said Dhaka may send a special envoy to Beijing to show that "Bangladesh valued its traditional ties with China and firmly believed in a `one China' policy with Taiwan as its province."
The Chinese ambassador to Dhaka, Chai Xi, has met in the past few days with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshed Khan and Information Minister Tariqul Islam.
Gary Lin (林松煥), director-general of MOFA's department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said yesterday the ministry was trying to ascertain whether Bangladesh recalled its ambassador to Beijing to make routine reports or for other reasons.
The Taipei Representative Office in Dhaka officially opened on March 1, but the ministry would not say when the Bangladesh government would open its representative office in Taipei.
Asked whether Bangladesh's recalling of its ambassador would affect the operations of the Taiwanese office in Dhaka, Lin said the office has been functioning normally since its opening.
The ministry was waiting for the Bangladesh government's response because yesterday was a local Islamic holiday, Lin said.
"But we will pay close attention to the matter," he said.
"So far, the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Taiwan have been developing normally," Lin said.
He said Bangladesh once rebuffed China's intervention into its agreement with Taiwan to set up the office.
Bangladesh told China, which has absorbed massive amounts of Taiwanese investments over the years, that it should not hinder Taiwanese businesspeople from investing in its country, Lin said.
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