FIJI SHUTS DOWN REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN TAIWAN|外交部證實 斐濟撤駐台代表處.人員離台

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the island nation of Fiji in the southern Pacific has withdrawn the staff of its representative office in Taiwan. MOFA said that Fiji had come to the decision after a review of its representative offices around the world based on economic considerations. As to whether the withdrawal, sensitively timed on the eve of President Tsai's first anniversary in office, portends the beginning of another war over diplomatic allies with China, MOFA refused to speculate. But what we do know is that the Prime Minister of Fiji met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 16th and reiterated his support of the one-China policy. The south Pacific island nation of Fiji is known around the world as a haven for tourism. Although Fiji does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, each had a representative office with the other and Fiji had expressed support of Taiwan's participation in international organizations under the "Chinese Taipei" name in the past. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now confirmed that Fiji has shut down its office in Taiwan on May 10 and withdrawn all staff. ==WU CHIH-CHUNG Dep. Minister, MOFA== We believe that, as Fiji is a small country with only 850,000 people, it does have domestic economic considerations and was forced to make such a decision. We do regret their choice, but we will maintain our own representative office in Fiji, and we still believe that continuing bilateral exchanges and cooperation is important. MOFA would not speculate whether Fiji's withdrawal portends a new battle of diplomacy with China. However, China's official news agency, Xinhua, has reported that the Prime Minister of Fiji met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 16 and reiterated his support of the one-China policy. Meanwhile, the government has said that Taiwan will continue to deepen its cooperation with official and unofficial diplomatic partners in the face of Chinese pressure. For example, Taiwan's representative office in Japan has been officially renamed the Association of Taiwan-Japan Relations from the Association of East Asian Relations, symbolizing a deeper relationship between the two countries. ==CHIU YI-JEN President, Association of Taiwan-Japan Relations== The renaming today makes the work of the Association of Taiwan-Japan Relations clearer, but it also means that (our staff) has an even bigger responsibility. The sign for the renamed Association of Taiwan-Japan Relations was unveiled today, bringing an end to the 45-year history of the Association of East Asian Relations and symbolizing the deepening of the Taiwan-Japan relationship. TRANSLATED BY：JOHN CHEN 外交部今天證實，南太平洋島國斐濟撤離駐台代表處人員，並表示斐濟是在經濟考量下，檢視全球駐處後做此決定。不過，520前夕的敏感時機點，是否又掀起兩岸外交戰？外交部不願作此聯想，而根據中國官媒新華社報導，斐濟總理昨天會晤中國國家主席習近平，表達堅持一個中國政策。 位於南太平洋的斐濟，由330個島嶼組成，擁有得天獨厚的海洋觀光資源，成為世界知名的觀光度假勝地。而斐濟雖然和台灣不是邦交國，但兩國都互設代表處，2007年，世界衛生動物組織上，斐濟更在國際上，公開支持台灣，維持「Chinese Taipei」的名稱。不過，就在520前夕，外交部證實，斐濟代表處已經在10號撤館，所有人員都離開台灣。 ==外交部次長 吳志中== 我們認為就是說 斐濟事實上是一個小國 它只有85萬 事實上它有它國內的經濟考量 所以不得已做這樣的決定 我們也覺得很遺憾 但是我們在斐濟仍然是 持續保持我們的駐館 我們仍然認為跟他們 保持雙邊的實質交流 跟合作關係是很重要的 敏感時機點斐濟撤館，是否再掀兩岸外交戰？外交部不願證實，不過，中國大陸官媒新華社最新報導，斐濟總理昨天會晤中國國家主席習近平，表達堅持一個中國政策。而我政府表示，在中國打壓之下，會繼續和邦交國或非邦交國合作關係深化。像是台日關係就更進一步，亞東關係協會在17號正式更名為台灣日本關係協會。 ==台灣日本關係協會會長 邱義仁== 今天這樣的一個改名 我想讓台日關係協會的 工作更清楚 但是相對的 （台日協會同仁)責任更重大 繼今年初更名為日台交流協會，今天台灣日本關係協會也正式揭牌，過去沿用45年的亞東關係協會正式劃下句點，象徵台日關係發展更加深化。 記者 台北 綜合報導