TAIPEI —

Taiwan’s vice premier and foreign minister resigned Tuesday over a diplomacy scandal involving the island’s failed bid to enlist two secret envoys to give Papua New Guinea tens of millions of dollars in exchange for official diplomatic recognition. ‘‘This morning, I tendered my resignation and Premier Chang Chun-hsiung approved it,’’ Vice Premier Chiou I-jen told a Taipei press conference, citing the scandal and an ongoing investigation as reasons for stepping down.

Taipei prosecutors are probing Chiou for his role in recruiting two businessmen to act as secret diplomatic agents in 2006 to woo the Papuan government with $30 million in Foreign Ministry funds. Talks on establishing formal ties collapsed later that year and the cash and one of the businessmen vanished. Foreign Minister James Huang also announced his resignation at a separate press conference after prosecutors raided his home and office earlier in the day.

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