‘CHARITY’ FROM CHINA:The premier told lawmakers that Taiwan cannot rely on China’s ‘charity’ for diplomatic space, but must create its own international presence

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 04, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The former administration’s “diplomatic truce” policy belied the nation’s diplomatic predicament as Taiwan continues to face challenges caused by pressure from China, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said yesterday.

“We were led to believe that there was no diplomatic predicament under the so-called ‘diplomatic truce policy,’ but the predicament remains and we have to face it,” Lin said during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan.

“If our participation in international organizations depends on China’s ‘charity,’ [Taiwan’s international presence] is an illusion,” Lin said in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) about the government’s foreign policy.

Saying China has suppressed Taiwan’s international space by forcing its exclusion from this year’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly in Canada and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Morocco, Huang asked whether the government is to scale down diplomatic presence as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares to close some embassies and overseas missions.     [FULL  STORY]