Minister of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan
One of the Taiwan's most experienced Africanist diplomats
now appointed as Foreign Minister, Chin-tien (Timothy) Yang
keeps carefully to the new script which paradoxically downplays
the importance of Taipei's African allies. In his first weeks
as Foreign Minister, Yang studiously supported President Ma
Ying-jeou's 'modus vivendi' diplomacy, whose main tenet is
that Taiwan should avoid disrupting the efforts of Ma's government
to cultivate new economic and political ties with the Middle Kingdom.
Accordingly, Taiwan has abandoned its annual bid for UN recognition.
Taiwan pressed instead for 'meaningful participation' in two UN
agencies and the advocacy of Taiwan's 23 allies was not requested.
Yang used the words 'pragmatic' and 'practical' to describe his
viewpoint, promising to avoid shake-ups in diplomatic relations....
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