Government, opposition parties denounce Nauru's diplomatic pivot

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's government and opposition parties condemned Nauru on Monday for its decision to shift diplomatic recognition to China, a move that came shortly after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured a third term in power.

In a statement, Presidential Office spokesperson Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said the Pacific island country's decision was highly regrettable.

Influenced by Beijing, Nauru has made a "wrong decision" that is not in the interests of the people of Nauru and Taiwan, and is also detrimental to regional stability, Lin said.

She tied the timing of the decision to Taiwan's presidential election held Saturday, which was won by Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the DPP.

Beijing's diplomatic suppression, occurring at a time when the world is congratulating Taiwan for a successful election, is a "retaliatory act against democratic values and a clear challenge to the stability of the international order," Lin said.

Despite Beijing's suppression, however, it cannot stop Taiwan's people from engaging globally or change the reality that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China are not subservient to each other, she said.

In line with the Presidential Office's position, Vincent Chao (趙怡翔), chief of the DPP international affairs department, agreed with Lin that China was trying to limit Taiwan's international space through diplomatic means after the election.

But Taiwan, he said, will not yield under pressure.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), strongly criticized Nauru's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, saying that it "cannot agree with or accept" such a move.

In a statement, the KMT blamed the DPP administration for causing multiple diplomatic challenges, while calling on Beijing not to suppress the international space of the ROC.

The KMT said the DPP government needed to realize that the severing of diplomatic relations between Nauru and Taiwan underscored the lack of awareness within the diplomatic system that a problem was imminent.

On Monday, Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and former Taipei mayor, also called Nauru's move regrettable.

The chairman of the TPP, who has accused the government of resorting to dollar diplomacy to retain Taiwan's diplomatic allies, said in a statement that his party advocates transparency in foreign aid and opposes participating in "vicious diplomatic competition with China."

Ko said it was also necessary to maintain diversified exchanges with non-diplomatic countries to create common interests and strengthen cooperation on economic, scientific and technology issues and build influence with them.