European Parliament plans Taipei office

European Parliament plans Taipei office

TAIPEI (Reuter): Taiwan foreign minister John Chang said yesterday the European Parliament, which he recently addressed, had committed itself to opening a Taipei office -- a move likely to anger communist China, the island's rival.

"The European Parliament decided after my speech that it was going to set up a liaison office in Taipei," Chang said on his return from Europe and Africa. "The parliament has approved a budget to establish such an office ... No date had been set."

Chang indicated there had been no significant diplomatic breakthroughs during his 11-day trip that included stays in Belgium, Luxembourg, Guinea Bissau and Senegal.

Chang said South Africa, which told Taiwan in November that it would switch diplomatic ties in 1997 to Beijing, had agreed to a third round of talks in Taipei in June to negotiate the nature of bilateral ties after the change.

Chang said plans to visit Sao Tome and Principe had been thwarted by transport problems, but he called Taipei's new ties with the twin-island west African state "firm" and said its president had made a pledge of support for Taiwan.

Confusion erupted after the May 6 announcement of diplomatic ties between Sao Tome and Taiwan's exiled Republic of China when Sao Tome's parliament adopted a resolution opposing the move. On May 26, China suspended aid to Sao Tome but stopped short of severing diplomatic ties and sought clarification.