FOREIGN AID IN R.O.C. DIPLOMACY

In: Issues & studies: a social science quarterly on China, Taiwan, and East Asian affairs, Band 28, Heft 9, S. 67-84

Abstract

IN THE EARLY 1960'S THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (ROC) BECAME A FOREIGN AID DONOR. AT THAT TIME, ITS AID CONSISTED CHIEFLY OF AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE NEWLY-INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES OF AFRICA, WHICH WERE DEEMED IMPORTANT TO TAIPEI'S EFFORT TO MAINTAIN ITS SEAT IN THE UNITED NATIONS. AFTER THE ROC WAS FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE UNITED NATIONS IN 1971, ITS AID FOCUS SHIFTED TO LATIN AMERICA. IN THE 1980'S, THE COMBINATION OF ECONOMIC STRENGTH AND DIPLOMATIC ISOLATION INCREASINGLY PROMPTED THE ROC TO USE FOREIGN AID AS A DIPLOMATIC TOOL. THE POLITICAL MOTIVES BEHIND FOREIGN AID, THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS' DOMINATION OF FOREIGN AID DECISION MAKING, AND THE LACK OF LEGISLATIVE SUPERVISION OVER AID HAVE ALL PROVOKED CONTROVERSY IN TAIWAN. THE ROC SHOULD TRY TO ACHIEVE A BALANCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS AND DIPLOMATIC INTERESTS IN ITS FOREIGN AID PROGRAMS, AND IT SHOULD HAVE A MORE OPEN FOREIGN AID DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.