The government owns more than 70 percent of China Airlines' shares.
In a closed-door breakfast meeting with representatives from US think tanks yesterday, Yu told the US scholars that the basis of Taiwan's cross-strait policy has not changed.
"President Chen's position of the `five no's' policy, based on the conciliation of goodwill and active cooperation [across the Strait], will continue," Yu said.
At Chen's inauguration in May 2000, he pledged that he would not declare independence, change the national title, push forth the inclusion of the so-called "state-to-state" description in the Constitution, or promote a referendum to change the status quo in the question of independence or unification.
Chen also said he wouldn't abolish the Guidelines for National Unification and the National Unification Council.
Yu also told the group that the problems that exist between the two sides need to be settled through dialogue and that there should be no preconditions for talks.
"That the ROC is an independent sovereignty is a fact. President Chen has been pushing for cross-strait relations based on that fact," Yu said.
Yu also expressed his appreciation on behalf of the government for US President George W. Bush's pledge that the US would "do whatever it took to help defend Taiwan."
Those attending the breakfast included George Schwab, president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and John Holden, president of the National Committee on US-China relations.
Yu said since these two think tanks had been helping bridge the double-track dialogue between both sides of the Strait and had given constructive advice on the subject in past years, he sincerely hoped that rep-resentatives from the two think tanks could visit Taiwan in the near future.
Former US ambassador to China, Winston Lord, who is the co-chair of the international rescue commission and Richard Bush, the former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, also attended the meeting.
Yu is scheduled to leave for Haiti at 11:25am today and arrive at 2pm.
After their arrival, Yu is slated to inspect a cooperation project at Port-au-Prince International Airport, while his wife will visit an orphanage.



