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US reacts to `one country on each side'

The US, in its first detailed response to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait statement, has reiterated its opposition to Taiwan independence and has indicated that it is satisfied with Taipei's explanations that Chen's statements did not constitute a unilateral declaration of independence.

White House spokesman Sean McCormack said that the George W. Bush administration takes "at face value" the government's explanations issued after Chen's comments that he did not intend his remarks as a declaration of independence.

McCormack also said that the administration still stands by Bush's comments in April of last year that the US would do "whatever it took" to defend Taiwan against an attack from China.

The statements came just hours before Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) arrived in Washington from New York on an emergency mission to explain to US officials and think tanks what Chen meant and how his remarks affect the government's cross-strait policy.

In a press conference at Washington's Union Station, where Tsai arrived by train Wednesday afternoon, she indicated that she will have a tough job in the two or three days she is in the national's capital.

"I think that a lot of clarification is needed," she said, when asked whether she has detected concern in the US over Chen's remarks.

"I want to let the people [in Washington] understand better the situation in Taiwan. The situation is that there's no change in policy."

Early yesterday morning, Tsai held a lengthy meeting with members of two think tanks, the liberal Brookings Institution and the conservative American Enterprise Institute, which play important roles in helping form US government policy, and was scheduled to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage later in the day. It was not known whether she would meet anybody in the White House.

It is also understood that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, James Kelly, is interrupting a vacation to return to Washington to meet with Tsai, an indication of the importance with which the administration views Chen's remarks.

The White House's McCormack reiterated that Washington has a "one China" policy and "we do not support Taiwan independence."

He took pains to emphasize the importance of the explanations made by the DPP and Chen's government that Chen's speech did not represent a declaration of independence.

"The question at issue is whether or not Taiwan should be an independent nation. And it is our understanding that authorities on Taiwan have publicly emphasized that Chen's Aug. 3 remarks were not, in fact, a call for independence. This is what we have been told, and we take these statements at face value," he said.

Reflecting Washington's concern, McCormack called on Taiwan and China not to exacerbate the situation in the Taiwan Strait. "We continue to urge all the parties to avoid any steps that may raise tensions, threaten peace and stability. And again, we look for ... a possible resumption of dialogue between Beijing and Taiwan," he said.
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