Report spurs denial from Chen's aide

The Presidential Office took exception yesterday to the way the Washington Post interpreted remarks President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made in an interview with the paper regarding the nation's relations with the US.

"President Chen never said that he `would not bow to US pressure' as the two countries have mutual concerns on certain issues; Taiwan would also be concerned about the US tilting its stance toward China," Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said.

"Concern is not the same as pressure. Being concerned doesn't mean that you're going to get involved in another nation's domestic affairs. This is simply the press' excessive interpretation," Huang said.

The Washington Post, in a report published Tuesday, wrote that Chen said he "would not bow to US pressure to modify recent moves -- including holding a referendum on rewriting the constitution and adding the name Taiwan to its official Republic of China passports -- which Bush administration officials worry could heighten tensions with Beijing."

The paper quotes Chen as saying: "Taiwan is not a province of one country nor is it a state of another. Any kind of democratic reform is our own internal affairs. I don't think any democratic country can oppose our democratic ideas."

The Post said Chen's remarks were "unusual because Taiwanese leaders are rarely so dismissive of US concerns."

The report was written by the Washington Post's chief correspondent in Beijing, John Pomfret, who conducted the interview with Chen on Monday in Taipei.

Huang yesterday said that when Pomfret asked Chen whether the holding of referendums, rewriting the Constitution and adding Taiwan to the cover of passports were part of a strategy to anger Beijing and boost his chances of getting re-elected, the president replied that "such thinking was incorrect and meaningless."

"The president said these moves were based on improving the development of the nation's constitutional system and public convenience. The president emphasized that pushing these democratic reforms has nothing to do with the issues of independence or unification. So the things the US is concerned about won't happen," Huang said.

"The president considers the US to be a democratic nation. Our nation is also a democratic nation," Huang said. "So of course one democratic nation will respect decisions and choices made by the free, democratic will of people in another democracy."

Echoing the US State Department's response to Chen's comments, Huang said: "Taiwan shares common ground with the US regarding the issue of resuming cross-strait dialogue and promoting cross-strait stability."

However, he added, "Such a task is not something which can be unilaterally controlled by us."

Huang also reiterated that the government has smooth communication channels with the US regarding issues of mutual concern.

The presidential spokesman also rejected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) claim that the Chen administration was putting at risk US-Taiwan relations.

"The opposition party's inappropriate political interpretation that Chen's remarks will sabotage US-Taiwan relations is not true and may actually damage bilateral relations," Huang said.

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`Post' interview worries US capital