Lawmakers across party lines yesterday said the government was “slow and incapable” of positively managing the nation’s image in a global media spotlight, a flaw they said was highlighted after the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel and the recent food scare related to the use of maleic anhydride-modified industrial starch in food products.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), rotating chair of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, yesterday held a meeting to discuss issues concerning the government’s handling of the international media.
Despite the fact that related issues are under the direct supervision of Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Shih (史亞平), Shih absented herself from the meeting and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Ko (柯森耀) stood in.
DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) criticized Shih’s absence.
Lin said Shih’s reason for not attending, that she was not in a politically appointed position, was just an excuse to avoid having to appear before the legislature.
“Shih supervises the Department of International Information Services. Absenting herself from the committee was a violation of democratic norms,” Lin said.
Several DPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, as well People First Party (PFP) Legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪), attributed the image problem to the dissolution of the Government Information Office (GIO), part of the government’s ongoing plan to streamline the Executive Yuan.
The GIO’s function was split between the Executive Yuan’s spokesperson’s office, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with public relations and communication affairs taken over by the foreign ministry’s newly established Department of International Information Services.
The lawmakers criticized the foreign ministry for “a lack of sensitivity” and a failure to adopt a pre-emptive approach to international media coverage during crisis management.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) speaks only for Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), while Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) speaks only for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Lin said.
“We don’t have a spokesperson speaking for the nation. The foreign ministry must position itself as the government’s spokesperson,” Lin said.
In response to DPP Legislator Tsai Hung-liang’s (蔡煌瑯) assertion that the foreign ministry should address the food scare, Ko said the ministry has been gathering international public opinion on the issue, but has not come up with a plan on how to respond to that because “the issue falls under the remit of the Department of Health.”
“When the Department of Health decides what needs to be done, we will fully cooperate,” Ko said.
Lin said Ko’s reply showed that after the handling of public relations was transferred from the GIO to the foreign ministry about a year ago, the ministry has not cultivated a mindset to proactively handle issues unfavorable for the nation’s image.
KMT Legislator Yang Ying-hsiung (楊應雄) criticized the foreign ministry for being slow to explain to the international community the truth of the shooting incident on May 9.
The remarks made by acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun on May 17 that the circumstances leading to the incident have remained unclear to the US showed that the foreign ministry had failed to convey sufficient information to the US to solicit its support, he added.
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who was head of the GIO between February 2010 and May 2011, termed the foreign ministry’s lackluster performance on public relations “a structural problem” and “not just an isolated case.”
The foreign ministry did not set up a contact point for international media outlets to provide them with up-to-date information regarding the government’s position and its policies on the shooting incident until May 19, he said.
“What were you doing during the 10 days from May 9 to May 19? Taiwanese fishing boats have been suffering intimidation from the Philippines for so many years. Why didn’t you tell those stories to the international community?” Chiang asked.
He said the respective responsibilities of the foreign ministry and the former GIO were inherently not a good fit.
The foreign ministry tends to handle issues in a diplomatic way, where it hopes problems can be resolved through negotiations that are under the radar, Chiang said.
“It deserves discussion whether that diplomatic culture should be handling public relations,” he said.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
GLOBAL: The slogan would be advertised in popular tourist destinations in North America and Europe, such as Champs-Elysees and Times Square, the agency said “Taiwan: Waves of Wonder” is to be the country’s new tourism slogan for the next 10 years, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, adding that it would be showcased in commercials at the Olympic Games in Paris and other major cities and travel fairs around the world. The new slogan, logo and theme song, which were unveiled at a news conference in Taipei, marked the agency’s latest effort to attract 10 million international visitors to Taiwan this year, a goal that it readjusted earlier this year, as China has yet to lift its travel ban to Taiwan. The administration created the “Taiwan: Touch
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the