Print

Mail

wiki links

Washington will likely reject Ma's request to visit

The feeling is growing in Washington that the US government will reject a request by president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit before his inauguration next month, but a senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) official in the US capital said on Friday that negotiations were continuing.

Reports and sources say that there have been strong debates within the US State Department about the advisability of allowing Ma to come to the US at this time in light of how China might react and before the US has had a chance to fully analyze the implications of such a trip.

The administration of US President George W. Bush may be concerned that China might take umbrage at the visit, considering it an unfriendly act when China was incapacitated by its need to deal with international reaction to its bloody crackdown on Tibet demonstrations, its imprisonment of well-known human-rights activists and other issues as it readies for the Olympic Games in August.

Nevertheless, Jacob Chang (張大同), the KMT’s deputy representative in Washington, told a seminar on Taiwan’s presidential election at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, that he was hopeful the trip could go ahead.

“We’re very optimistic that everything can be worked out, but it’s still in negotiations on whether he can come or not,” Chang said.

“But I’m very hopeful that the trip will happen. Ma said he wants to improve bilateral relations with the US, and anything that is good for Taiwan-US relations is good for Taiwan,” Chang said.

He would not give details of the negotiations when asked whether it was an issue of timing, place, or other factors, saying only that “everything is on the table.”

Asked about China’s bearing on the decision, Chang told reporters that the US “never” considered China’s reaction when considering a request for a visit.

Other sources confirm that the State Department had not consulted China on the issue, but said that Beijing’s reaction is in the back of policymakers’ minds.

Former deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan affairs Randall Schriver said he favored a Ma trip but was doubtful whether it would happen.

“There are people in the US who would take a risk-averse position toward this,” he said.

“They might suggest that there are uncertainties, that this would set a precedent, and that we don’t know how Beijing would react,” he said. “So perhaps it would be safer to preserve this trip to the United States until a time that he can transit as president.”

He also indicated that there could be other means of communication between Ma and US officials other than an early visit.

“I imagine there are those in the US who would say this is his last time possibly to visit because he won’t be allowed to visit when he’s president. But there might be opportunities to have an enhanced transit or more dialogue during a transit. So this doesn’t completely remove us” from the possibility of meeting him, Schriver said.

“I would have liked to see him be welcomed to Washington for consultations before he became [president], but there may be a possible opportunity for phones calls if not a visit, or video conferences,” he said.

“There’s a possibility that maybe they could announce the first transit even before he becomes president and talk about a very robust transit with a lot of activities,” he said.

Also see: EDITORIAL: Think before you leap, Ma

Also see: Ma's dream of visiting US sparks controversy
This story has been viewed 1509 times.