The Presidential Office has spoken out against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s ideas on diplomacy.
It a televised debate for presidential candidates on Sunday, Tsai accused the government of “kowtowing to China” with its “diplomatic truce” in which the two sides agreed not to lure away each other’s allies.
Tsai said the policy has made Taiwan subservient to China in its diplomatic efforts.
However, Presidential Office Spokesman Charles Chen on Monday refuted Tsai’s remarks. He said Tsai’s intent in reverting to what he called “scorched earth diplomacy”, was risky for Taiwan.
“In Sunday’s debate, Chairwoman Tsai again mentioned the ‘scorched earth diplomacy’ introduced by then President Chen Shui-bian," Chen said.
"It will present serious risks to cross-strait peace and international relations. And cross-strait ties will revert to the time when Chairwoman Tsai was the head of the Mainland Affairs Council and the Taiwan Strait was on the brink of war. How could Chairwoman Tsai use ‘scorched earth diplomacy’ to maintain the peace and stability achieved in the Taiwan Strait over the past seven years?”