Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) returned in triumph from Indonesia last week. This surprise diplomatic attack on Zhongnanhai for the first time rendered PRC President Jiang Zemin's (江澤民) trump card powerless, and Lu's return to Jakarta is like a thrust in his back. But are there any behind-the-scenes stories unknown to the public? Lu made a succinct summary by saying that every second was a battle.
When asked about the motives for her trip, Lu gave a surprising answer. She said the trip was a result of an invitation from Indonesia, rather than a request from Taiwan. Months ago, Lu received a letter from Indonesian Environmental Minister Nabiel Makarim, her classmate at Harvard law school, formally inviting her to visit the country. Following a report to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Lu began to plan for the trip.
PHOTO: HAKU HUANG, TAIPEI TIMES
During negotiations, the Indonesian side demonstrated its willingness to strengthen exchanges with Taiwan.
According to Lu's analysis, China is a lion, baring fangs and brandishing claws, and Taiwan is the peaceful Hello Kitty, and therefore certainly much more favored. This is Taiwan's fortune and a trend that displays the nation's integral power.
SECURITY LEAK
Lu's team set last Wednesday as the date for her departure, but the plan was unexpectedly leaked to the media the previous day, turning what was supposed to be a low-key visit into a high-profile affair.
Lu contacted the Indonesian government to make sure of its intent on Tuesday night and agreed to keep Wednesday, 8am as her departure time. She said she would only board the plane if Indonesia guaranteed that there would be no problems with her entry.
After phone contact the next morning, Lu left for Indonesia as scheduled. But as expected, Beijing applied powerful pressure on Jakarta authorities during the flight. Anticipating this, Lu spent her time on board pondering how to negotiate with the Indonesian government after landing.
Originally, Lu's ideal plan was to fly to Bali first and then continue to Jakarta so that she could take advantage of Indonesia's National Day to meet with more people in the capital.
But Indonesia hoped that Lu would go to Jakarta first on the grounds that Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri would lead Cabinet members to present reports in the parliament on the eve of the National Day and it would not be easy to make any arrangements regarding Lu's visit during that time. Lu therefore accepted their suggestion.
But after landing, when entering Indonesia through Jakarta became problematic, Lu returned to her original plan and flew to Bali.
Lu believes that one should be prepared to respond in a flexible manner when traveling abroad. She has said that problem of humiliation does not exist in this regard and the important thing is to achieve one's goals.
TENSE TIMES IN BALI
The period on Bali was tense, as Lu and her team prepared to return to Jakarta where the Indonesian leadership were in meetings continuously and where there was quite a vocal opposition to Lu's Jakarta visit within the Cabinet.
Lu then applied counter-pressure on the Indonesian government, saying that the eyes of Taiwan were on Indonesia and the way it would treat her. Pointing out that there are many Taiwanese businesspeople in Indonesia, that 90 percent of tourists to Bali are Taiwanese and that there are about 100,000 Indonesian workers in Taiwan, she asked them what she should tell the Taiwanese people if she were treated in an undignified manner.
She also contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which expressed concern over the Indonesian response.
STAR TREATMENT
Shortly thereafter, Lu was aboard a special Indonesian government flight to Jakarta. On board, Lu noticed that the plane was extremely luxurious, even more so than Air Force One.
It was only then she realized that the European plane she chartered when flying from France to Gambia wasn't this luxurious either. In their hearts, everyone knew who the plane belonged to.
Lu also confirmed that the guard provided to her upon her arrival in Jakarta were plainclothes presidential guards. From these details, she could see the Indonesian government's sincerity.
As for her return to Taiwan last Saturday -- one day earlier than she had originally planned -- Lu said the date change was done on her own initiative, and not because of suggestions by the Indonesian government, who she called polite and said gave no hints to her about departing.
Lu said the reason she went to Indonesia was to make friends, and she did not want to cause her hosts any inconvenience. Once China started threatening Indonesia, she needed to make a decision. No matter what, Lu says "this seed of friendship has already been planted."
BIG SECRETS
In Jakarta, Lu met with many political heavyweights. What big secrets did she discuss with Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz? Lu said: "There are five political parties in Indonesia. It is very complicated and I cannot give the details. Otherwise I will hurt my friends."
However, a number of Indonesian ministers made the two-hour flight from Jakarta to Bali in the evening, outside of their office hours, expressly to meet with her. Lu said she was very much moved by their visits.
As for the "go south" policy advocated by the president, Lu spoke at length about how while she was in Indonesia, she promoted the Taiwan experience and its model of development, centered around small and medium-sized enterprises.
HANG ON TO YOUR MONEY, AND YOUR MAN
She said when Taiwanese businessmen operating in Indonesia came to see her, they brought their wives with them. The wives took her hand and said, "It's good we did not invest in China. Otherwise, I could have lost both my money and my man. The first wife could have [been demoted to] a concubine."
As for the hype surrounding the prospects for buying natural gas from Indonesia, Lu said on none of her visits abroad in recent years did she go with any bargaining chips in her hands. The hosts, she said, also knew this clearly and would not ask her for money. She said she only proposes an idea and a direction for people to think about and to do on their own. She would not interfere, but would be willing to serve as a bridge.
Regarding reports that Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's husband would come to Taiwan to discuss the purchase of natural gas, Lu was not clear about the matter and said it had nothing to do with her. She said she had raised the ideas of buying natural gas, building industrial zones and building a "honeymoon village" on Bali. In the future, she said would disseminate this information widely in the government and the private sector and prompt everyone to set up delegations and go explore business opportunities in Indonesia.
ANTI-CHINA,
PRO-TAIWAN
Lu characterized her visit as very difficult, secret and lucky. Lu explained what she meant by lucky, was that one week before her visit, she learned that Indonesia had been working hard to win natural gas purchase orders from China, but China was being unclear on its real intentions, angering the Indonesian public and dramatically increasing the odds in favor of a visit from a Taiwan leader. More importantly, if this incident had occurred around the time of Lu's visit, Indonesia would inevitably have put the blame on Taiwan.
Lu also said she found out during the trip that many prominent Indonesians were fond of Taiwan, and that anti-communist forces in Indonesia were much larger than she had imagined.
When asked how she managed to accomplish her mission, Lu said the main reason was that she had gained the trust of Chen, who fully authorized her to maneuver on the front lines.
Since becoming vice president, Lu has traversed six continents and visited four countries with which Taiwan has no diplomatic ties. But her greatest sense of accomplishment this time comes not from her successful breakthrough in Indonesia and diplomatic victory against China, but from the fact that she had found the shared vibes through which she can have a dialogue with Chen, whom she now calls "the President" in every mention. Humility has allowed her confidence to thrive even more.
Translated by Jackie Lin, Francis Huang and Perry Svensson
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