US' Taiwan policy won't be restated

The US will not make a move to restate its policy on Taiwan during President George W. Bush's upcoming trip to Beijing to meet with President Jiang Zemin (江澤民), US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told reporters Thursday.

"I think the US policy is very clear. I don't think it needs to be restated in a further statement," she said during a briefing on the president's trip next week to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing.

She also said that Bush would not have a private meeting in Beijing with Vice President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), who is widely expected to replace Jiang as president at the 16th Communist Party Congress later this year.

Rice listed three "cornerstones of the American policy toward Taiwan."

These are: first, "The United States doesn't want to see any unilateral changes in the status quo"; second, "This is an issue that people on both sides of the Strait need to resolve peacefully"; and third, "The United States has certain obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to help Taiwan defend itself."

That act, enacted in 1979, set the framework for US-Taiwan unofficial relations after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. It says Washington should supply Taiwan with the arms needed to defend itself against an attack from China.

Rice indicated that the main topics of conversation during Bush's 30-hour, two-day stopover in Beijing would be -- in addition to the war on terrorism -- China's proliferation activities and human-rights issues, especially the question of religious persecution.

Other issues will likely be the Bush administration's efforts to build a missile-defense system, China's entry into the WTO and various regional issues.

Bush will arrive in Beijing from Seoul next Thursday morning and leave the following afternoon. In addition to his meetings with Jiang, he will attend a dinner hosted by Jiang on Thursday evening and have a working breakfast on Friday with Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基).

Later that day he will give a speech at Ching Hua University that is expected to be televised live throughout China. He will also visit the Great Wall.

It will be Bush's first visit to China's capital since the late 1970s, when his father was the diplomatic representative there.

While Bush might meet Hu at functions during the trip, no separate meetings are planned, Rice said.

Hu is expected to travel to Washington in the spring.