Pro-Taiwan members of the US Congress are considering inviting President Chen Shui-bian (
Congressional aides and other sources said that an invitation had not yet been formally made, but many lawmakers and officials in the administration of US president George W. Bush believe Chen should be able to visit the US capital.
An effort was underway to bring Chen to Washington this spring but it was decided that the timing was not right given the just completed visit of Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), the country's heir apparent leader; the Middle East crisis and the continued war against terrorism, sources said.
"I don't see it happening in the coming months just because our hands are full with these other critical issues, like the war on terrorism," said Al Santoli, senior adviser to Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican and founding member of Congress' new Taiwan Caucus.
"But next year, a stopover in Washington by Chen is something that members of Congress have discussed," he said.
Another congressional aide confirmed "there's been nothing formally done" by way of issuing an invitation to Chen, who was elected on a platform advocating Taiwan independence but has not taken concrete steps to advance that position.
Still, the aide said: "Many members of the caucus believe ... President Chen should be able to come to Washington to meet with members of Congress."
A third source said: "I think there is every possibility a push will be made to bring Chen here later this year."
Hu, expected to succeed Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
US-Taiwan relations, boosted by a well-funded, well-established and aggressive Taiwan lobbying campaign, are now at their strongest point since 1979, analysts said.
Having Chen come to Washington would take that trend to a higher, more public level. Chen met some US lawmakers in New York last year en route to Latin America.
A Washington visit would give Chen a much bigger stage, providing an opportunity to speak directly to Americans via the media and publicize Taiwan's free market democracy in contrast to China's more controlled system, analysts said.
In making their case, pro-Taiwan advocates stress how the US has hosted Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA; Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and others often at odds with Washington.
In this context, there is no rationale to exclude Chen, who came to power peacefully in a free election, they said.
The National Security Council did not respond to inquiries but sources said the administration has shown some reluctance to invite Chen to Washington, fearing this would cross a line and provoke a worrisome response by Beijing.
One alternative might be having a university host a very public appearance by Chen in another US city.
If Beijing does not react to a Chen visit to the US capital, "then what they have said is they aren't going to react to anything .... It would be hard for me not to see them reacting," said China expert David Lampton of the Nixon Center.
But others say China is unlikely to do anything that would force Bush to cancel a planned summit in October with Jiang and there is little Beijing could do in retaliation that would not also harm its own interests.
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