BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

2006-01-04

MOFA closes Taiwan office in Belarus

Taiwan News, Staff Reporter and AGENCIES / By Evelyn Chiang

Taiwan has shut down its representative office in Belarus due to its inability to boost bilateral exchanges in the absence of diplomatic ties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (???) said yesterday.

Lu said that the decision was made after a meeting in mid-December attended by ranking MOFA officials to review the effectiveness of Taiwan's 122 embassies, consulates, and missions abroad.

"There has been no exchange of visits by government officials and bilateral trade is minimal at around US$20 million to US$30 million a year," Lu noted.

"The establishment of the office offers no substantial help to Taiwan's relations with Belarus, which has remained unfriendly to us and has failed to voice its support for an increased role for Taiwan within the international community," he added.

Belarus has not set up a representative office in Taiwan and recognizes Being over Taipei diplomatically, which contributes to the mediocre bilateral ties, Lu added.

When asked about the criteria for removing or establishing offices in countries without official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Lu said that the annual review takes a number of factors into consideration, such as interactions between the two sides and trade volumes.

The official nonetheless added that the non-ally's attitude towards Taiwan's participation in international organizations is " a key factor."

If Taiwan sets up a representative office in a non-allied country, Taiwan would hope even if the country could not publicly support Taiwan's attempt to participate in the United Nations or the World Health Organization, it should at least remain silent instead of voicing objections.

Lu said that over the past few years, Belarus has "succumbed to China's financial offerings," and has openly expressed its opposition to Taiwan's involvement in the U.N. and the WHO, which was "one of the crucial reasons why Taiwan closed down the office."

Minsk also showed its support for China when the latter passed the anti-secession law in 2005.

The ministry has reported the closure to the Executive Yuan and that the mission's duty will be temporary coordinated by Taiwan's representative office in Moscow, Russia, Lu added. As to whether the office is likely to be re-opened in the future, Lu said it will depend on the development of the general situation.

Source:

http://www.etaiwannews.com/showPage.php?setupFile=showcontent.xml&menu_item_id=MI-1123666634&did=d_1136341616_10003_960CB6297700E5A898EDDDD1FE900A859C63817D_48&area=taiwan&area_code=00000

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