US Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to tell China that the US sees President Chen Shui-bian's (
Due to visit Beijing next week, Powell also plans to talk about US arms sales to Taiwan and respond to China's recent strident expressions of opposition to the US$18.2 billion arms package that Washington is seeking to sell to Taipei, spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters at his regular daily press briefing.
Powell will visit Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul from Saturday through Tuesday. He will arrive in Beijing next Monday evening and leave the next day.
Referring to Chen's offer to resume talks on the basis of a 1992 meeting in Hong Kong, Boucher called it "a chance to look at what we can all do to promote the idea of dialogue across the Strait."
The Bush administration thought "there were elements in it that were constructive, and we felt that there was an opportunity here to get back to a cross-strait dialogue that should be looked at by all the parties."
Boucher said the US will encourage the Chinese "to see it that way and to look at what they can do to get back to a cross-strait dialogue."
Boucher's comments mark the third time since Chen's speech that a department spokesman has praised the speech and the offer to resume dialogue as "constructive," even after Beijing dismissed the offer as a sham.
The offer is consistent with Washington's new emphasis on promoting the resumption of cross-strait talks since Chen's re-election, and especially since his inauguration address in May.
While Powell confers with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
Powell is planning to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
During his trip, Powell will also hold talks on North Korea and Iraq, and have a chance to meet again with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, whom he met in Washington earlier this month. The questions of a US-Japanese effort to develop a joint missile defense shield, and the shifting US military presence in East Asia will also be discussed.
Another topic of discussion will be preparations for the APEC summit meeting in Chile next month.
When asked whether Powell expected to accomplish anything with the trip, given the nearness of the US presidential election, Boucher said that there was much to be done despite the election.
"There are many things coming up in November, December, January, not to mention next year, that we are going to be working with these countries on," he said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS