Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday slammed comments made by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during his visit to the US, saying he has undermined Taiwan’s diplomacy and attacked its allies.
Speaking at a symposium held by New York University Law School on Monday, Ma was cited by Central News Agency as saying that Taiwan and China are “not separate countries” like Ukraine and Russia.
The former president was also paraphrased as having condemned former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien and other US politicians of trying to “weaponize Taiwan,” which could turn the nation into a battlefield like Ukraine.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Wu said on the sidelines of an interpellation in the Legislative Yuan that Beijing’s “relentless and ever-increasing military, political and economic pressure” is the most significant challenge faced by the nation.
“Under the circumstances, I believe important Taiwanese political figures have a responsibility to rally foreign countries’ support for Taiwan,” he said. “Former president Ma did not do so.”
The government “deeply regrets” Ma’s behavior of “visiting a foreign country to cast aspersions on the people there who support Taiwan,” Wu said.
“US politicians have a saying that politics stops at the water’s edge,” he said. “All our high-ranking officials follow this rule of leaving domestic politics at home, when going overseas, to better represent the nation’s interests.”
Later that day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing its “profound disappointment” at the former president’s speech, adding that the comments “attacked the democratically elected government and the nation’s staunch international supporters.”
Ma’s remarks were not factual or representative of public opinion, but closely toed China’s line on Taiwan, it said.
China, and not Taiwan or the US, is the country responsible for constant saber-rattling, provocative actions against neighboring states and causing the rise in regional tensions, the ministry said.
Taipei has consistently offered goodwill and left open the possibility of dialogue with Beijing under conditions of rational discussions, equality and mutual respect, it said, adding that the nation’s commitment to being a force of good is widely acknowledged globally.
In contrast, China repeatedly caused harm to peace and stability in the region and conducted an extensive campaign of military threats, disinformation and economic coercion to interfere in Taiwan’s democratic elections, it said.
These acts have sparked concern and voices of condemnation in the international community, the ministry said.
The ministry urged Ma to take advantage of his visit to the US to educate himself on the international community’s mainstream views, the meaning of free and democratic values, and face the reality of Taiwanese public opinion, it said.
Separately, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Tuesday issued a statement, saying that in the past eight years, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has kept her promises and maintained the “status quo,” while adhering to her “four commitments.”
It added that in her Double Ten National Day address on Oct. 10, Tsai said: “We do not provoke, we do not act rashly, and we will absolutely not bow to pressure.”
Many opinion polls show that the majority of Taiwanese support Tsai’s stance of maintaining stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it said.
Ma condemning the government and catering to China’s political stance is against mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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