Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen told the Defense Industry Conference in Annapolis, Maryland, that the US "is not opposed to referendums," but the referendum being promoted by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) concerns the US government "considerably more than would a generic referendum on applying to the United Nations."
Christensen said the proposed referendum "raises the question of what Taiwan should be called in the international community," in what could be a "legally binding popular vote."
"It is the apparent pursuit of name change in the referendum, therefore, that makes the initiative appear to us to be a step intended to change the status quo," he told the gathering organized by the US-Taiwan Business Council.
Chen Chin-jun, however, said freedom and democracy-loving nations around the world should understand Taiwan's appeal.
"We respect the US' stance [on the issue], but we hope the US can listen to the voices of Taiwan's 23 million people that have been yearning to enter the UN and other international organizations for 10 to 20 years," he told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The bid to join the UN using the name "Taiwan" enjoys the support of more than 70 percent of the public, he said.
He said the government understood why the US had to make such remarks.
"If US [officials] came to Taiwan more often, I believe they would understand public opinion and change their views," he said.
Christensen's statement was the latest, and the most detailed, expression of the US' position.
He said the US has "exhausted every private opportunity through consistent, unmistakable and authoritative messages over an extended period of time" and has found itself "with no alternative but to express our views directly to the Taiwan people."
He dismissed as "purely legalistic" arguments by Taiwan that the referendum, even if passed, would not amount to a pursuit of name change, saying that such arguments seem to overlook Taipei's commitments to the US.
"In the world of cross-strait relations, political symbolism matters, and disagreements over it could be the source of major tensions or even conflict," Christensen said.
"President Chen recognized the importance of such `symbolic' issues in 2000 and 2004 when he promised our president and the international community not to pursue a change in Taiwan's official name, and he has reaffirmed that promise repeatedly," he said.
He rejected the accusation that the US is meddling in Taiwan's democracy, pointing out that the US has for decades been committed to supporting Taiwan's security and democratization.
"Friends have an obligation to warn friends who are moving in an unwise direction," he said. "After all, it is not just Taiwan's peace and stability that Taipei's action may threaten."
Claiming that "bad public policy initiatives are made no better for being wrapped in the flag of `democracy,'" Christensen warned that the referendum would limit Taiwan's international space.
He urged the Taiwanese to "see through the rhetoric and make a sound judgment" if the referendum is held.
Saying it was a "frustrating truth," Christensen said "needlessly provocative actions" by Taipei always strengthen Beijing's hand in limiting Taiwan's space and scaring away potential friends.
"The referendum on applying to the United Nations under the name Taiwan is just such a frontal assault with no hope of changing Taiwan's actual status on the international stage while increasing cross-strait tensions and alienating potential supporters of Taiwan's increased international space," he said.
The Presidential Office declined to comment yesterday on Christensen's remarks.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun lambasted Christensen, calling his criticism "irresponsible."
"Christensen was shifting responsibility for the US' failure in cross-strait policies," Yu said.
He had also "twisted" the meaning of democracy because the US does not have the right to "approve" the content of a Taiwanese referendum, Yu said.
Christensen's remarks also showed a lack of understanding of Taiwan, Yu said.
"The Taiwanese have longed to be masters of their own fate. They hope to join international organizations such as the WHO and we don't understand why we can't," he said.
Asked for comment after the DPP's Central Standing Committee meeting, DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (
"But Taiwan has its own standpoint and interests as a nation," Lin said. "Referendums are part of Taiwanese democracy. We hope Americans respect that."
Meanwhile, the DPP's Standing Committee rejected a proposal by the party's Culture and Information Department to encourage people attending a pro-referendum rally in Kaohsiung on Saturday to wear Crocs -- a popular plastic shoe that US President George W. Bush has been spotted wearing.
The idea was to use the shoes to highlight US pressure over the referendum proposal.
However, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
"President Bush did not make any comments against Taiwan and lauded Taiwan during the recent APEC meeting. So we should not say anything or do anything to provoke [tension] in Taiwan-US relations," Hsieh said.
In other developments, China called President Chen a "traitor" yesterday.
"If he ... insists on his own dangerous way, he will have to bear all the serious consequences," Li Weiyi (李維一), spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference in Beijing.
"The traitor to the nation who attempts to split the country will not escape historical punishment," he said. "Chen Shui-bian ... came out with this blatant `Taiwan independence' provocation and this only proves he is a conspirator."
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Spokesman Su Jun-pin (
"The KMT wants to rejoin the international community in a practical way. We've been playing the role of the brake on the UN issue, but the brake has little effect on the direction of a car," Su said at KMT headquarters.
He lashed out at the DPP for creating cross-strait tension in pursuit of its own "political interests."
Su also criticized China, however, for failing to be more flexible in seeking to resolve the cross-strait problem.
No matter how many preferential packages Beijing showers on Taiwanese businesspeople, China will never ease the resentment harbored by the majority of Taiwanese as long as it continues to keep Taiwan out of the international community, he said.
"The KMT is trying to play a steadying force in the Asia-Pacific region. Such a motivation should not be misinterpreted as an intention to sell out Taiwan. The accusations are unfair," Su said.
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) joined Su in defending the party's proposed referendum.
Ma argued that the US was opposed to the DPP plan because the DPP had made the proposal simply for electoral purposes. Additional reporting by AFP AND STAFF REPORTERS
Shih Hsiu-chuan, Mo Yan-chih, Flora Wang and Ko Shu-ling
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