Foreign Minister David Lee says the new government’s foreign policy will be “pragmatic”. Lee was speaking Wednesday at his first appearance before the Legislature’s foreign affairs committee. Lee and the rest of the Cabinet assumed office on Friday with the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen.
Lee told the committee that Beijing is an important factor in Taiwan’s foreign policy, affecting both Taiwan’s bilateral and multilateral ties. He said the moves Beijing and Taipei make in foreign diplomacy might either intensify cross-strait rivalry or create positive cross-strait interactions.
Lee said he hopes the two sides will show patience and wisdom, resolve disputes, and create mutually beneficial outcomes.
Lee said that Beijing will also be a factor in the new government’s “Southward Bound” policy, an initiative to bring Taiwan’s economy closer to the economies of Southeast Asia and India. However, Lee said that the policy will not focus on politics. Instead he said that the policy’s goals include trade agreements, strengthened Taiwanese exports, and an increase in the number of South and Southeast Asian students studying in Taiwan.