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Updated Tuesday, January 31, 2012 0:06 am TWN, AFP

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Tsai refuses to meet AIT chief as DPP reiterates US bias claim

TAIPEI--Taiwan's defeated opposition party on Monday accused the United States of taking sides in the Jan. 14 presidential vote which led to the re-election of incumbent Ma Ying-jeou.

The China-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) aired the protest as its acting chairwoman and losing candidate Tsai Ing-wen declined to meet a visiting senior U.S. official, citing a scheduling conflict.

“Some U.S. officials' behavior harmed the DPP's efforts to let Taiwan's people enjoy their right to a democratic election, free from external threat,” Hsiao Bi-khim, a close aide to Tsai, told U.S. envoy Raymond F. Burghardt.

“Although the U.S. government had repeatedly said it would keep neutral in this election, some current and retired U.S. officials voiced their support for a certain party in the run-up to the vote,” she said, according to a statement.

The DPP aide was not quoted as specifying which officials she w as referring to.

However, when Tsai traveled to the United States in September, an unnamed U.S. official described to the Financial Times concerns about the opposition candidate's ability to maintain stability in the island's ties with China.

And prior to the election this month, Douglas Paal, a former de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan, gave a widely disseminated interview with Taipei-based CTI cable news network openly supporting President Ma's China policy.

Paal later said he had spoken as a private person and not on behalf of his government.

“The DPP felt regret for this. This has also made many people in Taiwan doubt if the United States can abide by the universal principle of democracy,” Hsiao said.

Burghardt, said prior to his departure for Taiwan that he would like to meet the DPP's Tsai.

But the DPP said yesterday that Tsai was too busy to see him because she was traveling around the island to thank her voters.

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Comments

January 31, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

If it's a Republican sitting in the White House now, such a statement wouldn't have been made regarding support for the '92 Consensus. As we all know that the DPP has a similar political orientation with those Neo-Conservatives in Tokyo and Washington.

January 31, 2012 johnny.brian@

The face of a loser. If Tsai had won, she would have met Burghardt. Now, because she lost, she will not meet Burghardt and accuses US of bias.

February 1, 2012 there801@

Teach this little loser the art of diplomacy.

February 2, 2012 thm1229@

cloggedwithguts@,

Well said, bravo. In addition, those that follow US politics know that this is an election year. Obama wants to make sure no irregularities in Asia would create any problems.

February 3, 2012 olichu@

All the above comments are written by jokers. First of all, there is no need for Tsai to meet Burghardt. Tsai wasn't elected into public office and has no legitimate reason to meet with US officials, unless it was about immigration. Burghardt shouldn't even have offered to meet with Tsai. If he really wanted to meet Tsai and give his condolences for the loss, he should have met with her personally, and shouldn't have announced it publicly. Tsai should have also handled it better by not flatly rejecting the offer but should have accepted it as a personal visit. It's funny how above commentators don't see both sides. You’re like the Tea Party members in the US that haven't quite moved onto the next level of child/brain development.

February 4, 2012 carltanong@

Tsa-iSad from losing in the last election. Tsa-iSad is heart broken and disappointed with our American friend. But Tsa-iSad should understand that it's the voters who decided the outcome through exercising their right to cast their sacred ballots and voted for the Horse who is capable, sincere, honest and clean to become the President for another four years.

Tsa-iSad should meet U.S. envoy Raymond F. Burghardt even as a LOSER, otherwise how can Tsa-iSad take another shot in 2016. Tsa-iSad exposed herself as immature and lacking the credential to be the leader of her own government in exile.

Remember Tsa-iSad.
Our American friends showed they are impartial and did NOT meddled in the last election. Just blame yourself for.......

February 5, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

olichu@ wrote:
All the above comments are written by jokers. First of all, there is no need for Tsai to meet Burghardt. Tsai wasn't elected into public office and has no legitimate reason to meet with US officials, unless it was about immigration. Burghardt shouldn't even have offered to meet with Tsai. If he really wanted to meet Tsai and give his condolences for the loss, he should have met with her personally, and shouldn't have announced it publicly. Tsai should have also handled it better by not flatly rejecting the offer but should have accepted it as a personal visit. It's funny how above commentators don't see both sides. You’re like the Tea Party members in the US that haven't quite moved onto the next level of child/brain development.

It appears that you're not too big on the Tea Party in the US...and that surprised me.

February 7, 2012 olichu@

@cloggedwithguts....obviously.......The Tea Party is a too extreme for my taste.

February 7, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

olichu@ wrote:
@cloggedwithguts....obviously.......The Tea Party is a too extreme for my taste.

You're a supporter of the DPP but whine about the Tea Party in the US? That's an odd combo...

February 9, 2012 olichu@

@clogged..I don't understand where you are coming from. What is the correlation between DPP and Tea Party? Or any US political party and Taiwan's political parties? Also I don't belong to any party, so don't assume or label.

February 9, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

olichu@ wrote:
@clogged..I don't understand where you are coming from. What is the correlation between DPP and Tea Party? Or any US political party and Taiwan's political parties? Also I don't belong to any party, so don't assume or label.

Well, as you know that the Neoconservatives (as well as the Republican and the Tea Party) has always been (and always will be) the most vocal and consistent supporters of the Pan-Greens in Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen has donated generously to the Heritage Foundation (a Neoconservative-affiliated think tank in the US), as well as the close contact between members of the DPP and the Republican Party. It's hardly surprising because of the similar political orientations (as I've mentioned before) between the two groups.

February 10, 2012 olichu@

@clogged....Again you’re labeling the entire Heritage foundation. I am sure that some Democrats support the foundation. You seem to want to divide things either one party or another, so if you are (this or that), you must be this or that political party. Things in life are not definite. They change. For example, Nixon (Rep) was in support establishing relations with China. Tsai may not believe in everything else the Heritage foundation represents but supports the Heritage foundations support for Taiwan self-defense. In all likelihood, the Heritage Foundations isn't really concerned about Taiwan but in support of US military presence in Asia Pacific through Taiwan.

February 18, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

olichu@ wrote:
@clogged....Again you’re labeling the entire Heritage foundation. I am sure that some Democrats support the foundation. You seem to want to divide things either one party or another, so if you are (this or that), you must be this or that political party. Things in life are not definite. They change. For example, Nixon (Rep) was in support establishing relations with China. Tsai may not believe in everything else the Heritage foundation represents but supports the Heritage foundations support for Taiwan self-defense. In all likelihood, the Heritage Foundations isn't really concerned about Taiwan but in support of US military presence in Asia Pacific through Taiwan.

I doubt it...the reason why there is such a strong alliance between the Pan-Green and the Neoconservatives in the United States is extremely similar political orientation between the two groups.

February 22, 2012 tsaidinniya@

She doesn't need to...she's a LOSER!!!!

February 23, 2012 olichu@

@clogged...What political orientations is that? Please explain? Cuz your answer is fleeting. To state that their orientation is same is to say that have the same everything. The two groups have (obviously) different countries, different culture, different social issues, different social values, different government, etc...

You’ve basically lumped everything together and made a statement of fact that DPP and the Tea Party are the same...Why stop there, why not include conservative parties of Germany, England, Argentina, etc.

February 25, 2012 9161939@

There is a connection between the American Tea Party and the DPP. Both are delusional.

February 29, 2012 cloggedwithguts@

9161939@ wrote:
There is a connection between the American Tea Party and the DPP. Both are delusional.

I concur...glad to know that there's a person out there who can see the connection between the two.