By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The government handled allegations of labor fraud against a Taiwanese official based in the US poorly and its actions at the annual APEC summit missed the mark, analysts told a forum yesterday.
The forum, organized by the Taiwan Brain Trust, focused on recent events, including former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) meeting with US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as the case of Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has focused on Taiwanese officials’ right to diplomatic immunity in the US since the Liu case broke last week, which risks inciting nationalist sentiment in Taiwan and could jeopardize relations between Taipei and Washington, former representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
According to Wu, it is strange that TECO officials did not report to Taipei after being questioned by the FBI about the case prior to Liu’s arrest and that they did not raise the issue of immunity when they were questioned.
Taiwan’s image is being damaged each time the case is mentioned in international news, he said, adding that the most detrimental aspect of the case was a US prosecutor’s comment that Taiwan is not a sovereign nation.
However, no ministry official has been held accountable or reprimanded yet, Wu added.
Speaking about the APEC summit and Lien’s actions as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) special envoy, Wu said Lien had “narrowed” the international meeting to a bilateral meeting between Taiwan and China when he discussed a possible cross-strait peace agreement, while saying nothing about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Wu said Lien’s performance reaffirmed that Ma’s perspective is that “cross-strait relations are above Taiwan’s overall external relations.”
While Taiwan has expressed an interest in joining the TPP, a pan-Pacific free-trade agreement, Lien missed a great opportunity to further the nation’s cause when he failed to mention Taipei’s strong desire to join during public appearances in Hawaii.
“The TPP, which has been seen as a US strategy to contain China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region and to re-engage with Asia, will come down to the point of ‘Which side are you on?’ — the US or China?” said Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), a research fellow at the think tank.
Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮), a professor at National Central University, said Taiwan had wasted an opportunity by stressing the so-called “1992 consensus” and the peace accord initiative rather than the TPP, which would have significant influence on Taiwan both economically and politically.
Lin Cheng-yi (林正義), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, said the meeting between Lien and Obama was overshadowed by cross-strait issues.
Lin said Washington should solve its dispute with Taipei over beef imports and resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, as well as arrange a Cabinet-level official visit as soon as possible.
“The US should also reassure Taiwan that it will maintain its neutrality in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election,” Lin said.