INTERVIEW/Foreign minister pitches new interagency resources diplomacy

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told CNA Friday that his past experiences as a lawmaker, mayor and minister, have prepared him for the latest challenge as the nation's top diplomat, where he hopes to pitch an integrated diplomacy to promote Taiwan's strengths around the globe.

"It has never been a career goal for me to be the foreign minister. But my previous posts have happened to help me [take up the job] promoting Taiwan's diplomacy," Lin told CNA during Friday's interview.

The 60-year-old top diplomat served as Presidential Office secretary-general and an ambassador-at-large for Taiwan's digital New Southbound Policy initiatives during former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration.

He also served as transportation minister from January 2019 to April 2021 and Taichung mayor from 2014 to 2018.

Lin said that he has been engaged in diplomatic affairs over the past two decades, including being an advisor to the National Security Council and being a government spokesperson.

As a lawmaker and later city mayor, he had planned the first-ever meeting of overseas Taiwanese businesspersons in Taichung.

He believes his experiences in these posts have prepared him for his current role as Taiwan's top diplomat.

Serving multiple positions in both the central and local government made him realize that the foreign ministry should work in tandem with other ministries to promote Taiwan around the world, he added.

That is why he is now pitching a new diplomacy platform to coordinate interagency resources and combine the strengths of different government branches to push for economic and trade diplomacy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) should coordinate this effort to help present the strength of Taiwan as a whole to the outside world, he said.

He also proposed allowing non-MOFA staff to head Taiwan's overseas representative offices.

This would allow missions to harness the talents of existing cultural and economic attachés as well as from the private sector.

As the first foreign minister with no English name in the past two decades, Lin told CNA that although he had flirted with different monikers in his youth, as he became older, he grew more confident and ultimately decided to use his Chinese name only.

"I am Lin Chia-lung. This is me. [Similarly] Taiwan is Taiwan. Let us be our true selves when making friends with the world."

Lin took up the foreign minister post on May 20, succeeding Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who returned to the National Security Council, where he served as secretary-general from May 2016 to May 2017.