Soft Diplomacy And Taro

Despite its seemingly benevolent nature, the project is also a small part of a decades-long duel between rival political powers on the Pacific Rim. There is nothing political about Worswick's work, but he is nevertheless one of the beneficiaries of this battle, for his training is paid for by the Taiwanese government through its International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).

In one of the most hotly contested regions in the diplomatic tussle between Taiwan and China, where diplomatic largesse frequently flows to decision-makers via brown bags and secret bank accounts, it is ICDF missions such as the one in Palau that present a more friendly face of Taiwanese influence.

In the first decades after the Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland in 1949, the country relied on U.S. financial assistance. But since the 1970s, Taiwan has been able to stand on its own, and has sought ways to help nations poorer than itself, sometimes out of diplomatic considerations and sometimes out of a genuine desire to help.

Much assistance still flows, rather opaquely, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the ICDF is increasingly taking a role in the distribution of aid and expertise, which come in a variety of forms. In the Solomon Islands, for example, it has lent US$2 million to the government for a rural credit project, and in Tuvalu it is providing consulting services and training to the Development Bank of Tuvalu.

All five of Taiwan's allies in the Pacific have ICDF agricultural missions, but others also benefit. It operates missions in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, both of which recognize the People's Republic of China, rather than the Republic of China, as Taiwan is officially known.

ICDF mission team leader Hsue Ming-lii, right, talks to visiting of schoolchildren at the demonstration farm. Photo: Graham Norris

The ICDF has had a mission in Palau since 1985, long before the island group gained independence. It focuses on making the nation self-sufficient in as many fruits and vegetables as possible to reduce its reliance on expensive imports.

The team from Taiwan includes two senior agricultural experts and three young men who recently graduated with master's degrees and were allowed to work in Palau for two years instead of undergoing compulsory military service in Taiwan.

They face a number of challenges in trying to develop Palau's agricultural sector. The soil is clay, which is too dense for plants with fragile root systems to penetrate. The year-round hot and humid climate is ideal for crop-destroying pests and fungus.

One of the biggest problems is persuading the local population that farming is an economically viable activity. Traditionally, Palauans have eaten a lot of taro, but so few people grow it now that it has been replaced by imported rice as the main staple.

The market in Palau, with a population of just under 20,000, is too small to make cultivation of many crops worthwhile. Transportation, particularly on Babeldaob, is poor, although the new Compact Road should open in the next couple of years will improve the situation (See Page 13).

Another problem is getting people to work the fields in the heat. The farm employs five Palauans and more than a dozen people from other countries, mainly the Philippines. Team leader Hsue Ming-lii said he would like to hire more Palauans, but that they prefer fishing to working on a farm and, unlike the Filipinos, they are reluctant to work long hours.

"After pay day, you won't see them for a few days, but the farm schedule can't stop," Hsue says. "If we hired only Palauans, after pay day no one would show up."

Worswick, 25, is one of two Palauan technical assistants at the mission's 10-hectare demonstration farm and is one of the few people in Palau to have studied agriculture at Palau Community College.

"A lot of what I learned at school was out of a textbook. Working here allows me to use what I learnt," Worswick says.

As well as learning how to grow tropical fruit, he also monitors the local climate using the mission's rudimentary weather station. He said he eventually plans to continue studying agriculture abroad, but that his interest in the subject was rare in Palau.

Most of the people I know aren't interested in running a farm here, even the ones who studied agriculture at the Palau Community College, he says.

The money to pay for Worswick's training comes in return for something very important to Taiwan: recognition. Just 26 countries have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, with most others choosing to recognize China, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province.

Taiwan needs friendly nations to speak on its behalf at international organizations, particularly the United Nations and World Health Organization, while China wants Taiwan silenced. Both sides have been particularly aggressive in the Pacific Islands, with countries in the region frequently switching allegiances depending on where the best deals lie. Although it is nominally a non-governmental organization, the ICDF is by no means independent. The fund from which a large amount of its money comes from is provided by the Taiwanese government, and the chairman of its board of directors is the foreign minister. More than 90 percent of the ICDF's spending goes to diplomatic allies, making recognition an important criterion in deciding where the money goes.

Vanuatu, for example, was in line to get a Taiwanese agricultural mission when then Prime Minister Serge Vohor announced last November that his country was recognizing Taiwan. The plan is now on hold after he was ousted and his successor, Ham Lini, decided to continue recognition of China.

Exactly how much Taiwan pays for this recognition is not clear. The budget for the ICDF's mission in Palau is NT$18,135,000 (US$579,000), but it is only one of a number of projects. The Taiwanese government provided Palau with US$2.2 million to build the recently opened cultural center and US$2.45 million for the new Belau National Museum building. It is also constructing roads and provided a temporary airport terminal while the Japanese built a permanent one.

All the money, from both the ICDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, goes through the Taiwanese Embassy in Palau, but when asked how much the Taiwanese government spent there, Ambassador Clark Chen said he didn't know.

"We want to talk about friendship, not money," he said. "We donate to states and villages, so the goodwill goes to the grassroots," he said. "So people in every corner of Palau appreciate Taiwan's goodwill."

Indeed, everyone in Palau knows about the Taiwanese. Even taxi drivers know the ambassador's name and signs for the various projects can been seen all over the islands.

As well as government-to-government assistance, Taiwanese tourists have come to be one of the most important sources of income for local people. In 2003, Taiwan replaced Japan as the largest source of tourists to Palau, and in the 11 months to November last year, Taiwanese made up almost half of the 81,000 people who visited the islands.

Moreover, the tourists bring investment. Many of the better hotels, such as the Palasia and Airai View, are run by Taiwanese. The 160-room Royal Palauan Resort is being built with Taiwanese money to the south of Koror and will open later this year.

The presence of Taiwanese investors in the tourism industry has been helped over the past few years by the increase in non-stop flights between Taiwan and Palau operated by Taiwan's Far Eastern Air Transport, and the opening of Palau Trans Pacific Airlines, which also flies the route. To capitalize on the increase in transport links and infrastructure, the Palau Visitors Authority has opened an office in Taipei.

However, according to Billy Kuartei, chief of staff at the Office of the President, the "presence" of the agricultural mission over the past 20 years has gone a long way to cementing Palau-Taiwan ties.

Kuartei said he was particularly impressed by Hsue's ability to improve the production of taro by using root cuttings to speed up growing time and boost output.

"In the last few years, it's been like a revolution," he said. Hsue "is like a miracle worker, but it's just scientific research. They are very strong in this."

Kuartei said he also appreciated the ability of Hsue's team to produce enough taro to feed the 3,000 guests at the 10-day Pacific Arts Festival held in Koror last year.

While Hsue's achievements in developing Palau's agriculture sector are recognized at the top levels of the host government, he tries to play down his diplomatic role.

"The embassy said to me, just make relationships with the people, and we will deal with the political things," Hsue says.