Taiwan said yesterday that its interests were not undermined in the just ended summit talks between US President George W. Bush and his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin (江澤民).
"The meeting went quite as we had expected," Foreign Minister Eugene Chien (簡又新) told reporters, saying it was primarily a farewell for the outgoing Chinese leader. "We don't think it will have any special effect on cross-Strait relations."
At the summit Friday at his Texas ranch, Bush stressed that Washington does not support Taiwan's formal independence from China.
Chien said Bush's statement was simply a reiteration of Washington's long-standing position on the Taiwan question, which is not different from the island's own.
"President Bush clearly stated the need for [Taiwan and China] to seek dialogue and to resolve our differences by peaceful means," Chien said.
Taiwan foreign ministry spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said: "The results of their talks were not a surprise at all. They completely matched our prior expectations."
Washington had assured Taipei before the summit that its interests would not be sacrificed, she said.
"The results indicated the US policy towards the so-called Taiwan issue has remained intact," Chang said.
"In principle the two leaders voiced their own stands," she said.
Talking to reporters after talks with Jiang on Friday, Bush said he had told his guest US policy towards Taiwan was unchanged and pressed Jiang for a "peaceful resolution" of the Taiwan issue.
"Our `one-China' policy ... remains unchanged," Bush said, adding he had "stressed the need for dialogue" on the fate of Taiwan.
Bush also pledged to abide by the Taiwan Relations Act of the US Congress.
The Act, adopted after Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, provides for the US supplying Taiwan's with sufficient defensive weapons.
Taiwan has repeatedly asked China to resume dialogue. But Beijing has demanded that Taipei recognize "one China" as the pre-condition for any talks.
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