| Abstract | Diplomatic activities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were at a feverish pitch in August 1996, when the Republic of Niger, which a few years ago dropped the mainland authorities to establish ties with Taiwan purely due to economic considerations, restored diplomatic relations with Beijing during a visit by the former Niger president , Ali Saibou, to the mainland. Barely 24 hours later, Taiwan's No.2 man, Lien Chan, surfaced in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to receive an honorary degree at a Kiev University. Lien's three-day stay in Ukraine, the first ever to have been undertaken by a senior Taiwan official in a member nation of the Commonwealth of Independence States, is likely to incur severe condemnation by the mainland. |
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