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
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