Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to look beyond party lines when dealing with diplomatic affairs.
Lo made the remarks following Ma’s rejection of criticism over his foreign policy by the DPP, which said the Gambia, a former ally of Taiwan, re-establishing diplomatic relations with China on Thursday was a failure of his “flexible diplomacy” policy.
Ma lashed out at the DPP’s comments, saying it was “rejoicing like a hunter spotting prey” and creating collateral damage by “spreading salt over the wound,” adding that he was disappointed by the DPP’s reaction.
“I disagree with President Ma, because now is when we must all point our guns at the enemy,” Lo said yesterday in response to reporters’ questions. “We should now focus on how China is squeezing our space in the international community.”
He said the DPP’s criticism of Ma was not “rubbing salt on the wound,” but rather a review of the nation’s foreign policy direction.
“Of course there are positive aspects to ‘flexible diplomacy,’ but there are also hidden dangers,” Lo said.
“The close interactions between Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and China, which increase uncertainties related to the nation’s diplomacy, are the results of such a policy,” he added.
Ma first proposed the “flexible diplomacy” policy during the 2008 presidential campaign and it became the core of his government’s diplomatic platform. According to Ma, the idea was to stop the “diplomatic war” between Taiwan and China.
Ma expected China to positively respond to the gesture, which would improve both cross-strait and Taiwan’s international relations. However, despite Ma’s wishful thinking, China does not seem to have ceased its hostility against Taiwan in the international community.
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