Taiwan should be prepared for unpleasant "surprises" when Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Although Taiwan is making an effort to protect its interests in advance of the Bush-Hu summit, the nation must be prepared for possible developments that it may not like, Lee said -- despite the close communication between Taiwan and Bush administration officials, which has been as open as possible.
Lee made the comments during his monthly "tea party" with the Taiwan press corps in Washington.
"We have made every preparation to try to make sure that the interests of Taiwan and the well-being of its 23 million people will not be hurt because of the summit," Lee said.
"However, we have to realize that in a meeting such as this, we cannot rule out the possibility that there could be a surprise. But we don't want that to happen," Lee said.
Lee's comments came as observers in Washington have been speculating that Taiwan's interests may be compromised next week when Bush and Hu meet.
The US, they point out, has a laundry list of several issues in which it is seeking Chinese help, from economic issues such as the value of the Chinese yuan and China's growing trade surplus with the US, to security issues such as Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and traditional issues such the environment, human rights and religious persecution. In turn, China wants only one thing from Washington: concessions on Taiwan.
Lee would not speculate over what Bush may be willing to give Hu in terms of Taiwan when the two meet on April 20.
"In another nine days, we will know the full details," Lee said. "At this moment, I don't want to speculate. My understanding is that the US position has been firm on the Taiwan issue, and that US policy regarding Taiwan has been consistent over the past few years."
Lee said that the US has been open with Taiwan in discussions in advance of the summit.
"We have very close contact with the administration's senior officials. And they are very forthcoming to let us know things we should know in advance," he said.
"We have let them know the concerns that we have on the Taiwan side. So our message is very clear. And I think those messages, according to US officials, are well taken by the American side," Lee said.
On other issues, Lee said that despite what he called US officials' high opinion of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Lee said that US officials were interested in some of Ma's ideas but did not agree with him on some issues, including Taiwan's national security and its proposed purchase of US arms.
The purchase has been mired in the legislature because of the KMT's opposition.
Lee was blamed by critics in Taipei for not being present at Ma's meetings with US officials in Washington during the KMT leader's March 19 to March 29 visit.
But Lee said that Washington had informed Taipei of its officials' talks with Ma through a briefing from Stephen Young, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, and other US officials.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS