The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday asserted that the US does not oppose Taiwan's referendum plans, despite the concern expressed by Washington over the proposal.
In a background press conference on US President George W. Bush's meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) in Washington, a high-ranking MOFA official who asked to remain anonymous said: "The US does not oppose Taiwan's holding referendums."
At his meeting with Wen earlier in the week, Bush said: "The comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally that change the status quo, which we oppose."
In efforts to quash grim media speculation on the future of Taiwan-US relations after the Bush-Wen meeting, the official clarified that Bush did not say the US opposes Taiwan's referendum plan in his reprimand of President Chen Shui-bian (
While Bush's remarks have widely been interpreted as targeting Chen's proposal to hold a referendum with next year's presidential election, the official said Bush was actually expressing concerns over some "comments and actions" Chen made in his presidential campaign.
The official said what the US was worried about was Chen's moves that might "change the status quo or lead to Taiwan's independence."
But the official, like White House spokesmen, would not specify which comments or actions by Chen had threatened the status quo.
Bush's warning to Taiwan at his meeting with Wen was within the ministry's expectations, the official said.
The ministry acknowledged that Taiwan's intense communications with the US on the referendum agenda over the past few months had failed to fill the gap in both sides' understanding of the issue.
The official did not explain exactly what had gone wrong with Taiwan's communication with the US.
The official declined to say why Taiwan had failed to take US concerns about the referendum issue into account, and he would not confirm reported visits by Bush envoys to caution Chen against moves that might alter the status quo.
The leaders of Taiwan and the US lack a formal communication channel because they do not have official diplomatic ties, the official noted.
Bush's open reprimand to Chen also aroused questions about why Chen had felt confident enough to tell a mass rally a few days ago that he had settled Taiwan-US relations enough to safely press ahead with his referendum proposal.
Commenting on the apparent chasm between Chen's appeasing words to his supporters and Bush's warning against him, the official said Chen's and Bush's remarks were made on different occasions.
"They were not in a dialogue," the official said.
The official said it was the ministry's belief that North Korea's nuclear program and the US-led war against terror were in part responsible for Bush's harsh tone on Taiwan in his meeting with Wen.
The Bush-Wen meeting was a crucial occasion to solve problems both China and the US are concerned about, the official said.
The official denied that Taiwan-US relations have suffered a serious setback after the Bush-Wen meeting and emphasized that "the mutual trust between Taiwan and the US has not been lost."
Analysts regarded Bush's comments as a severe setback in Taiwan-US relations, but the ministry said such speculation was untrue and biased. The official noted Bush also pledged to get involved if China uses force against Taiwan.
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