Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

 
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Home The News News Taiwan’s envoy in Germany reportedly snubs Tsai

Taiwan’s envoy in Germany reportedly snubs Tsai

Taiwan’s top foreign affairs official in Berlin was said to have snubbed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during a visit there as part of her Europe trip.

A member of her delegation said Taiwan’s representative to Germany Wei Wu-lien (魏武煉) failed to meet Tsai at the airport or even give her a telephone call, actions normally considered customary for a high-profile trip by the head of the opposition party.

“I have never met this kind of overseas representative,” said Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the head of the DPP international affairs department that traveled with Tsai. “During this trip, the German representative was completely -indifferent to [Tsai] from start to finish.”

Despite sending an official request for assistance, including help setting up a meeting with several German politicians, the letters were largely ignored, DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. Instead, the DPP was forced to rely on assistance from overseas Taiwanese groups and German politicians friendly to Taiwan, he added.

Back in Taipei, the allegations of a diplomatic lapse raised concerns among DPP politicians, but Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said that any courtesy extended to Tsai could be misconstrued as a violation of administrative neutrality.

Foreign affairs officials in Taipei were quick to point out that Wei had a prior commitment to -accompany first lady Chow Mei--ching (周美青) to a Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performance. And on the date of Tsai’s departure, Wei had a meeting with German officials.

Prior to the trip, Wei had invited Tsai to a meal, but received no response, according to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs.

“[Wei] did not purposely avoid Tsai,” Director-General of European Affairs James Lee (李光章) said.

On the request for assistance, Lee said the German politicians listed by the DPP had timing conflicts and requests for follow-up information from the party were also ignored.

KMT caucus whip Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) suggested that Tsai did not need to be afforded such high-profile treatment by the -representative office as she was not yet officially listed with the Central Election Commission as a presidential candidate despite being nominated by the DPP.

KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) added that using administrative resources to help the DPP would have been a “violation of administrative neutrality.”

Tsai, running for the nation’s top post, should have been clear on this, he said.

However, DPP officials said that former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration had extended a similar courtesy to Lien Chan (連戰), the KMT’s honorary chairperson at the time. In 2005, Lien was personally greeted by then-Taiwan’s representative to Germany, Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), Chen said.


Source: Taipei Times - 2011/06/11



Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Reddit! Del.icio.us! Mixx! Google! Live! Facebook! StumbleUpon! Facebook! Twitter!  
 

Newsflash


Convener of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign Peter Wang, fourth left, and other members of the group hold up signs and encourage the public to come together on Jan. 13 in a rally against President Ma Ying-jeou.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over its assets, saying the KMT administration had secretly sold its ill-gotten assets, pocketed substantial commissions from the transactions and used the profits to heavily subsidize the party’s election campaigns, spawning grave public grievance in the country.

Accompanied by lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and representatives from the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, the Rotary Club and the Taiwan Junior Chamber, Su made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei, titled “Giving vent to fury” (火大找出路), which called on more than 1,000 civil groups to hit the streets along with the party in a planned mass demonstration in Taipei against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.