Wednesday, 1 September 2004

Dunne: Time for Goff to come clean on Taiwan

United Future leader Peter Dunne is calling on Foreign Minister Phil Goff to come clean on the New Zealand Government’s dealings with Ministers of the Taiwan Government.

This follows the indication this week from the Government that it would not welcome a visit next week by a Taiwanese Minister to attend a meeting of the New Zealand-Taiwan Business Council.

Mr Dunne said “Mr Goff told the House during Question Time today that New Zealand has only cultural and economic, but not political, ties with Taiwan.

“Well, that’s not correct as Mr Goff ought to recall he was a member of the Parliament that voted a few years ago to congratulate the President of Taiwan on his election to office.

“Mr Goff is also claiming that New Zealand has no view on which Minister comes to New Zealand, yet his own Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Taiwanese that perhaps a vice-Minister would be a more suitable visitor.

“It’s time for Mr Goff to own up, to admit that New Zealand’s foreign policy towards Taiwan is dictated by Beijing, and to stop pretending that he is pursuing an independent sovereign line,” said Mr Dunne.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>