American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt yesterday warned President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) not to make any decisions during the remainder of his term in office that would cause problems for his successor.
"One of the wonderful things about democracy is that when new leaders come in, the new leaders present a new opportunity -- a new opportunity to solve problems and deal with important issues," he said.
In Taiwan's case, Burghardt said a new leader would be inaugurated in May and would have a new opportunity to deal with all of the nation's regional challenges.
"And of course above all that includes relations across the Taiwan Strait," he said. "To carry on the work of the president before him and to look for new solutions. So that new president will, regardless of who it is, have to make up his mind about how to deal with those issues."
It is therefore very important, Burghardt said, for everyone involved in the Taiwan Strait issue -- Taiwan's government, the leaders in Beijing and the US -- to say and do the right things to give Taiwan's new leader that opportunity in May.
"All the comments we made in the last few months have been made in the regard of preserving that opportunity," he said.
In addition to the preservation of Taiwan's democracy, the other issue that concerns the US is Taiwan's stability, Burghardt said.
Burghardt made his remarks at a meeting with Chen at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. Burghardt's visit comes hot on the heels of US opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum voiced by the director of the AIT office,, Stephen Young, and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen.
Chen said that he could not predict what the new leader would do, nor would he tell him what to do, but the US government should rest assured that he would keep his promises during the remainder of his presidency.
Chen said that as a responsible leader and the first from a former opposition party, he made the "four noes and one without" pledge during his inaugural address in 2000. The pledge constitutes the core foundation of cross-strait peace, security and stability, he said.
While he bowed to US pressure and compromised on the nation's first national referendum in 2004, Chen said there was a lot more he could have done. But he refrained in the interests of stability in the Taiwan Strait and the nation's friendship with the US, he said.
Emphasizing that the referendum seeking UN membership did not violate his commitments, Chen said he could not stop the campaign as it comes from the bottom up and represents the collective will of the people of Taiwan to join the international body.
In an interview with the Associated Press after his meeting with Burghardt, Chen dismissed reports that he was planning to declare independence.
He said such reports were Chinese propaganda designed to influence US decision-making on the matter and to scare Washington into intervening in next year's elections and referendums.
Meanwhile, the AIT confirmed yesterday that Burghardt had met with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
The AIT refused to reveal when the meetings had taken place or what was on the agenda.
Sources said Burghardt met with Ma shortly after he arrived in Taiwan on Saturday at Ma's campaign office. Ma's running mate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), KMT Legislator Su Chi (蘇起) also attended the meeting, they said.
"We talked for a long time, touching on a wide number of topics. The talks proceeded in a friendly atmosphere, but I can't tell you details on the basis of the principle of good faith," Su said.
Burghardt met with Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) yesterday afternoon. Huang told journalists afterwards that although Taiwan and the US had different opinions on some political issues, the overall US-Taiwan relationship remains sound.
"There is still lot of room for communication between the two sides," Huang said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique