TAIPEI (AP): Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has made surprise stops in Libya and Indonesia, scoring a rare diplomatic coup against rival China, which tries to block Chen from visiting countries that have formal relations with Beijing.
China reacted angrily to news of Chen's stop in Libya, calling on the North African country to cut all official ties with Taipei.
"This is a serious violation of Libya's long-term commitment to the one-China policy and will have a negative impact on bilateral relations between China and Libya," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
Beijing had no immediate reaction to Chen's stop in Indonesia, which began Thursday afternoon, about 11 hours after he left Tripoli.
Neither Libya nor Indonesia has formal diplomatic ties with the island.
Chen was returning from a four-day trip to Costa Rica and Paraguay.
Taiwan's China Times newspaper quoted Foreign Minister James Huang as saying the Libya visit was aimed at fostering economic ties between Taiwan and the oil-rich country.
Huang said Libyan authorities had resisted pressure from Beijing to bar Chen's visit, the newspaper said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Lu said Chen arrived in Indonesia's Batan Island Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to visit several factories Friday morning before returning home.
The visit was aimed at helping Taiwanese businesses to invest in Indonesia, Lu said.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing still considers the self-governing island to be Chinese territory, and opposes anything that gives it the trappings of sovereignty - such as letting its leaders travel the globe freely.
On May 4, Chen declined Washington's offer of a transit stop in relatively isolated Alaska, after the U.S. refused his request for stops in San Francisco and New York. Chen turned down the Alaska stop, considering it a slight to Taiwan's dignity.
In five previous Latin American trips since taking office in 2000, Chen stopped in major U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles and Houston - all with U.S. authorities' permission.
Chen used the stops to meet with U.S. politicians and raise the island's profile in the American media - part of his efforts to counter Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically. (**)
Taken from The Jakarta Post
All I can say is, well, at least some countries accepted President Chen (or he accepted visiting them on their grounds)! I'm unsure how this will affect Indonesia's relation with China, but Indonesia ought to be careful just in case China totally cuts Indonesia off or something bad like that. :-/
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