《TAIPEI TIMES》 Israel says leak not a change in Taiwan policy

/ Staff writer, with CNA

Israel’s representative office in Taiwan yesterday said that instructions sent to Israeli diplomats to refrain from meeting with their Taiwanese counterparts in official settings did not represent a policy change.

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The statement came after a diplomatic cable sent by Hagai Shagrir, head of the Asia and Pacific Bureau of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was published on Tuesday last week by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp.

Shagrir instructed Israeli embassy staff worldwide to refrain from inviting or accepting invitations from Taiwanese representatives to official events, especially any country’s national day celebrations, the report said.

The message was sent “in an apparent attempt to avoid a diplomatic flare-up with China,” it said.

The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which represents Israel’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of official ties, said that the cable was a regular reminder to embassy staff of existing policy.

“The cable that was quoted in the article was sent before Israel’s National Day and is a regular, periodical reminder to our missions abroad about the regulations related to National Day events of both sides and other formal events,” the office wrote.

“There is no change in our policy toward Taiwan and there is nothing new here,” it added.

The office said relations between Taiwan and Israel have been warming and deepening, and that the two sides have signed more than 20 agreements with bilateral trade exceeding US$2.3 billion, making Taiwan Israel’s fourth-largest Asian export destination this year.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou （歐江安） would not comment on the news report, but said that it was published on the same day that Israeli Representative to Taiwan Omer Caspi attended a conference in Taipei on ending gender-based violence, which had been organized by Taiwan and seven foreign representative offices, including Israel.

Despite the absence of diplomatic relations, Taiwan and Israel share common democratic values related to freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and have long maintained close relations and exchanges on all fronts, Ou said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES