Former ambassador to Nicaragua Jaime Wu (吳進木) had not informed the government of his decision to accept Nicaraguan citizenship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, urging Wu to respond to public queries about his continued stay in the country despite the severance of diplomatic ties.
The Nicaraguan government on Dec. 9 switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The following day it announced that Wu and his wife, Liu Chun-chiao (劉春嬌), were granted Nicaraguan citizenship in recognition of their contributions to the country for more than a decade.
While Wu had officially applied for retirement before the two nations cut ties, his decision to stay in the country has sparked controversy.
Photo taken from the Web site of the Republic of China embassy in Nicaragua
Wu had since 2020 applied for retirement several times and his application was approved on Sept. 28 last year, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
However, the ministry had not been informed of his decision to receive Nicaraguan citizenship in advance, she said.
Wu had told the ministry that his wife could not travel long distances due to health issues, so the couple could not return to Taiwan for the time being, she said, adding that the ministry would not comment further on Liu’s health condition.
The ministry has contacted Wu through private channels and called on him to respond to public questions, she said.
Wu is still subject to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Ou said.
The ministry is holding interagency discussions regarding calls to amend the law to prevent a similar incident, Ou said.
As a former diplomat, Wu should have striven for the greater good of the nation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said separately in a video on Facebook yesterday.
However, his actions, including accepting Nicaraguan citizenship and staying in the Central American country after it cut ties with Taiwan, show that he has no professional ethics at all, which should be condemned by the public, Wang said.
It is questionable whether Wu did his utmost to protect the nation’s benefits and secrets during his tenure as a diplomat, he added.
The authorities should discuss whether to freeze Wu’s pension or take legal action, Wang said, urging Wu to return to Taiwan and explain his actions to the public.
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