Presidential Office awaits US reaction

The Presidential Office remains cautious about the US government's reaction to Taiwan's referendum plan, in the aftermath of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announcing the two topics of his planned referendum, which is set to be held on the day of the presidential election.

"We believe that the March 20 referendum plan will no longer be a problem between the two countries, and we hope the US understands Chen's commitment," said a source from the Presidential Office.

He said Chen pledged to draft a new constitution and carry out his policies without changing the status quo, and the wording is more serious than the "five noes" Chen proposed in his inauguration speech in 2000.

During a pre-recorded TV speech broadcast on Friday night, Chen announced the content of his "peace referendum" plan and assured the international community that he would fully abide by maintaining the status quo in Taiwan.

"If I assume this office as the 11th president of the Republic of China, I will continue to strive to the fullest of my abilities to maintain the status quo and ensure the sovereignty, dignity and security of our country," Chen said.

"On the basis of maintaining the status quo, I will continue the proposed re-engineering of our Constitution," he said.

A senior official at the Presidential Office told the Taipei Times that, so far, the US has merely reiterated its goodwill toward Taiwan.

He said that Taipei understands that Washington would not remark on Taiwan's referendum development before this weekend, so the Presidential Office could not comment on the issue or evaluate possible developments in the relationship between the US and Taiwan.

"Presently, any interpretation or over-optimism would be inappropriate, and these are basic manners with which to treat a friend," said the official, who was involved in the decision-making.

He disclosed that there were only a few presidential aides involved in the decision-making process when the wording of the two topics was finalized last week.

He said the presidential campaign team announced the topics before the Lunar New Year holiday so as to avoid a lingering atmosphere of "uncertainty" throughout the nation, which may affect the DPP's campaign activities.

"We originally planned to announce it at the opening ceremony of the DPP presidential campaign headquarters Saturday morning. But since it is `Taiwan's leader' that [US] President [George W.] Bush referred to, we wanted Chen to make this announcement as the nation's leader, rather than a presidential candidate," he said.

According to the official, an English translation of Chen's speech was given to the US government an hour before the broadcast.

As soon as the referendum topics were announced, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and a White House spokesman responded positively, but Presidential Office Secretary General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) has remained low-key and reiterating that the office needed to be cautious about the US' remarks.

Meanwhile, in an interview on Formosa Television yesterday evening, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) revealed that an influential Chinese political figure had passed a message to ask Chen to ensure that he would deal with the "one China" issue in his inaugural speech four years ago.

Chen said he did add such a comment to the speech, which showed his sincerity and effort in handling cross-strait relations.