The US on Friday cautiously welcomed the changes Taiwan made to the terms of a referendum that has outraged China and which US President George W. Bush feared would upset the delicate status quo with China.
Conciliatory statements about the referendum from Secretary of State Colin Powell and White House spokesman Scott McClellan came after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) set ballot issues that were less aggressive than expected.
The US had warned Taiwan that its plans for a March 20 referendum could be seen as a unilateral attempt to change the status quo and move the nation toward independence, which China has threatened to go to war over.
On Thursday Chen unveiled what analysts said was a toned-down version of what they had feared would raise tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
He said his "peace" ballot alongside the election was aimed at preventing China from attacking Taiwan and changing the political status quo.
It will ask voters two questions -- whether Taiwan should acquire more advanced anti-missile weapons if China refuses to withdraw missiles pointed at the nation, and whether Taiwan should negotiate with China to establish a peaceful and stable framework for interaction.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the US did not see the referendum as something that would change its status with China.
"I would keep in mind that, as a matter of principle, we are not opposed to referendums, but nor will we endorse any specific referendum," he said.
"We understand, however, that there would be no relationship between the outcome of the proposed referendum and Taiwan's commitment to the status quo," McClellan said.
Powell told Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV that Chen has shown some flexibility.
"I think President Chen has shown a little flexibility in the way those two questions have been worded," he said, referring to the new terms of the referendum.
He repeated that the US "would not be supportive of any effort on the part of either of the parties to undertake a unilateral resolution of the difficulties between them."
"And so we will study the statement very, very carefully, and it seems to suggest a bit of flexibility from his earlier positions," he said.
The two sides split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979 but is the nation's main arms supplier and trade partner.
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