US State Department officials dealing with Taiwan were angered by President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) teleconference at the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday in which he asserted Taiwan's independence to an international audience, with at least one official charging that Chen's appearance violated the US ban on Taiwanese presidents visiting Washington, Taipei Times sources said.
The anger did not necessarily extend beyond the department's East Asia and Pacific bureaus, or reflect the feeling of the entire Bush administration, the sources said, but it did highlight what many Taiwan supporters in Washington feel is a basic anti-Taiwan, pro-China bent among key State Department officials who play an important role in determining US cross-strait policy.
In view of the sensitive role Taiwan policy plays in Washington, all sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
Historic performance
Chen's speech, and his response to reporters' questions, was considered an historic yet controversial performance in which he expressed a number of positions that likely made State Department officials squirm.
One prominent State Department official responsible for Taiwan policy told colleagues before the speech that nobody "in my chain," or section, would be allowed to attend, saying that Chen was "using teleconference technology to circumvent the ban on Taiwanese presidents coming to Washington," a Taipei Times source said.
As a result, no US official attended the teleconference, as far as can be determined from Press Club officials and other informed attendees.
It is understood that Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) tried to convince State Department officials to send somebody to the event, but that his efforts failed.
A department official denied any official effort to boycott the speech, saying that "this is a private organization holding the event, and we would not discourage freedom of speech."
No department official signed the guest book for the teleconference, and the organizer of the event, club newsmaker committee vice chairman Peter Hickman, said that no department official had contacted him about the presentation.
State Department guidelines implemented in 1979 ban Taiwan's president and other senior officials from visiting Washington, as part of Washington's "one China" policy. A 1994 law passed by Congress overrode those restrictions, but no administration has implemented the law's provisions to allow Taiwan's president and other high-ranking officials to visit Washington.
Independence
US officials are upset over Chen's use of the speech to declare that Taiwan is an independent country and that the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait presupposes that.
"Our views on this issue are well known," one State Department official said in response to Chen's speech.
"We do not support Taiwan's independence. The US has a `one China' policy in accordance with the three US-China joint communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act. We do not support steps to change the status quo by either side," he said.
But in his speech, Chen said that "Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country, and our sovereignty is independent from the rule of China."
Resurrecting his earlier "one country on each side" of the Strait formula, Chen challenged Washington's "one China" policy, saying that "including Taiwan as part of the People's Republic of China not only ignores a historical fact, but also directly challenges the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by attempting to change and damage that status quo."
Also see story:
Chen slams PRC over sovereignty issue
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS