UNFRIENDLY MOVE:Beijing informed Taipei about its diplomatic relationship with the Gambia via text message in a move that could begin a domino effect, Hung Hsiu-chu said

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 19, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday called on president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to table her foreign and cross-strait policies, concerned that the resumption of ties between the Gambia and China on Thursday is only the beginning of “scorched-earth” diplomacy with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) returning to the presidency.

The KMT caucus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Chen Chun-shen (陳俊賢) and the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) Planning Department Director Hu Ai-ling (胡愛玲), held a news conference in Taipei saying that Taiwan’s foreign policy “is highly interrelated with its cross-strait policy.”

KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said people are concerned about how the new government might react to Beijing’s bottom line — the “one China” principle.

“Is the Gambia episode a warning to Tsai or the beginning of the new government’s ‘scorched earth’ diplomacy? Both the ruling and opposition parties hope that the nation’s international space will not be severely limited due to pressure [from Beijing],” Chiang said.

KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said the timing of the resumption of diplomatic ties was curious, “as the cross-strait relationship is fairly good now.”     [FULL  STORY]