THERE may not have been an exchange of missiles but the atmosphere was frosty enough when the one discordant note at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis last weekend was sounded at, of all places, the diplomatic party.
The Taoiseach, John Bruton, was entertaining foreign ambassadors and other distinguished guests on Saturday night. Among them was the representative of Taiwan, whose Dublin office is well known for its lavish national day party each October and, as a result of constant courting, is not without friends among politicians. Indeed, few have failed to receive an invitation to visit Taiwan on fact-finding missions, although those on the current list are reconsidering their position.
It was a bit embarrassing then, on Saturday, that as soon as the Taiwanese representative in Ireland, John Mingliang Lee, entered the VIP room, the Chinese ambassador, Fan Huijuan, who had been a mere 10 minutes in situ, left. If the Government was in any doubt about the seriousness of the state of affairs in that part of the Far East, it was quickly enlightened.