離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》MOFA denies not helping family in Mexico
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday dismissed a Chinese media report alleging that the family of a Taiwanese businessman shot dead in Mexico had to ask the local Chinese embassy for assistance after being “left stranded and helpless” in the Central American nation.
The businessman, surnamed Chiu （邱）, was killed in Leon City in the Mexican state of Guanajuato at about 9pm on Jan. 9.
“Upon learning of the incident later that day, Taipei’s representative to Mexico, Carlos Liao （廖世傑）, immediately approached and negotiated with the governor and state attorney general of Guanajuato, as well as the police chief of Leon, requesting an all-out effort to apprehend the culprit,” a ministry statement said.
The ministry said Guanajuato Governor Miguel Marquez gave Liao his promise not to spare any effort in investigating the case, while the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Mexico maintained close contact with the state attorney general.
After a suspect was caught, Liao flew to Guanajuato on Friday to express his gratitude to Mexican authorities, the ministry said.
“The Chinese media’s claims that the family had asked in vain for help [from the Taipei representative office] are not true. Liao offered his condolences to the victim’s father on the day of the tragedy and relayed the condolences of Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing （吳新興） on Jan. 16,” the ministry said.
When Liao and council official Liang Hui-teng （梁輝騰） visited Chiu’s parents on Friday, the father clarified that he had never said he was “left stranded,” and thanked the government and the representative office for their assistance.
The ministry was referring to a video posted by the Chinese state-run China Central Television （CCTV） on Facebook on Thursday, in which the background narrator said Chiu’s family had to turn to the Chinese embassy in Mexico after they failed to receive help from Taiwanese officials.
The video said the Chinese ambassador not only flew to Leon the day after the incident to offer his condolences to the family, but also accompanied them in a meeting with the prosecutor in charge of the case to convey the embassy’s concern over the case.
It added that Mexican authorities notified the Chinese embassy just two weeks after the incident that they had apprehended a suspect.
“One can see from this incident that both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] naturally belong together. It shows all Taiwanese expatriates that when something happens, Chinese embassies are the ones that can provide the most effective assistance,” Chiu’s father was heard saying to a reporter in the video.
An official from the Chinese embassy in Mexico said in the news footage that people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait “are all Chinese that belong to the same family,” adding that it is the unshirkable responsibility of Chinese embassies to protect their rights.
A Taiwanese official familiar with foreign affairs, who requested anonymity, said Beijing is using the case to promote its “united front” tactics, calling on all sectors of society to see the facts.
Additional reporting by Lu Yin-hsuan
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
