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Bush supports `Republic of Taiwan'

US President George W. Bush on Thursday let slip another one of those verbal gaffes for which he is so famous -- one that is likely to produce howls of laughter in Taiwan but red faces in China.

In a State Department news briefing on Thursday, Bush referred to Taiwan as "the Republic of Taiwan," a name long advocated by the nation's pro-independence activists.

In his speech, Bush referred to Taiwan as a country while he commended US efforts in bringing China and Taiwan into the WTO.

"We helped bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization. And that's good, that's important to recognize and to welcome both countries, both the Republic of Taiwan, and of course China, into the World Trade Organization," he told an audience of diplomats and business executives.

Bush's remarks came as a surprise since the president had promised to follow the "one China" principle.

The White House so far has not responded to what observers said could be Bush's slip of the tongue.

The nation's official name, of course, is "the Republic of China," although pro-independence activists carry fake passports with the name "Republic of Taiwan."
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