US warns officials not to meet Chen

The US State Department said yesterday that it would discourage members of Congress from meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when he stops in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 while en route to the Caribbean.

Spokesman Richard Boucher said the administration sees Chen's visit as an overnight stopover only, and that any meeting with lawmakers would be considered a "public event" which would violate the mutual understanding of what is meant by the "transit" of high-level Taiwanese officials.

Boucher said in a press conference that "we would expect activities to be consistent with the purpose of transiting and for the safety, comfort and convenience of the traveler."

Two California congressmen have requested private meetings with Chen. One is Republican Dana Rohrabacher, a prominent China critic; the other is Democrat Howard Berman.

An aid for Rohrabacher, Al Santoli, told the Taipei Times that the Clinton administration had pressured Chen not to meet with the lawmakers and the Taipei Representative Office in Washington told them that it would be difficult for any such meeting to take place. Chien Jen-ren (程建人), Taiwan's representative in Washington, said that Taiwan would respect the wishes of the "host country."

However, Santoli said that the lawmakers had not completely given up the idea of "welcoming" Chen.

A spokesman from Representative David Wu's (吳振偉) office, the first overseas Chinese congressman, said that Wu was also exploring the possibility of meeting Chen in Los Angeles.

He said that Wu thought that having to obtain permission for such a meeting was "absurd."

The Democratic Convention will begin this weekend in Los Angeles, and some party lawmakers have suggested that it would be a good opportunity to meet Chen.

China has objected to the US decision to issue Chen a visa for the stopover and warned that it would severely damage US ties with China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (朱邦造) said earlier that China had expressed "strong resentment and firm opposition" to the decision.

Boucher said Chen will be greeted as a courtesy by Richard Bush (卜睿哲), Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, but there would not be any meeting between US officials and Chen. Boucher brushed aside questions about the lawmakers' proposed meetings with Chen.

"There are reports that we've somehow denied a request or that there is no procedure for getting approval [to meet Chen]," Boucher said, implying that no such requests had been received.

But in a letter sent Tuesday to Stanley Roth, Assistant Secretary of the State Department for East Asia, Rohrabacher complained that requests from members of Congress to meet privately with Chen had been denied.

"In order for the US to retain its role-model status as the world's democratic leader, President Chen and his entourage should be permitted to enjoy the basic rights of freedom of speech and assembly," Rohrabacher said,

"I request that the Department of State end the inappropriate de facto ban and permit elected American officials to conduct informal meetings with President Chen."

Chen will visit the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the African countries of Gambia, Burkina Faso and Chad. They are among the 29 countries with which Taiwan maintains diplomatic relations.