Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday tried to put to rest a controversy sparked by a joint statement issued after talks between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Tuesday.
Lai said that although Taipei and Beijing have differing interpretations of what territorial sovereignty means, they have agreed to put aside their differences for the moment.
Lai said the Hu and Obama’s joint statement and the press conference that followed their talks showed that Washington’s cross-strait policy “had not changed much.”
She said Washington emphasized the three US-China joint communiques and Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which she said was part of the US’ long-term policies.
While Obama did not clearly distinguish Taiwan from China during the press conference, Lai said China and Taiwan have always had different ideological interpretations on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“That’s why we have differences,” she said. “We cannot resolve them now, so we put them aside and engage in practical negotiations to address more pressing problems. That is the consensus both sides have come to.”
Lai said Washington has on various occasions, both public and private, expressed approval of the cross-strait detente as it serves the interests of Taiwan, China and the region as well as the US.
“We are happy to see the US government recognize our efforts over the past 18 months,” she said.
In the joint statement released on Tuesday, Obama and Hu stressed the importance of the Taiwan issue in US-China relations.
Beijing said the Taiwan issue concerned China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said it hoped the US would honor its commitments and appreciate and support China’s position on the matter.
The US said that it followed a “one China” policy and abided by the principles of the three US-China joint communiques. The US said it welcomed the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and looked forward to efforts by both sides to increase dialogue and interactions in economic, political and other fields, as well as develop more positive and stable cross-strait relations.
The two countries said that the fundamental principle of respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity were at the core of the three communiques that guide US-China relations, and that neither side supported any attempts to undermine this principle by force.
The two sides also agreed that respecting each other’s core interests was important to ensure steady progress in US-China relations.
While the statement did not mention the TRA, Obama mentioned it at a press conference on Tuesday.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said the joint statement raised a “serious alarm,” adding that Beijing seemed have successfully lured Washington to its side.
She said it was a warning signal that the TRA was not mentioned in the joint statement.
Lu also criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for expressing approval of Obama’s remarks at the press conference.
Lu made the remarks in Hsinchu yesterday while stumping for Democratic Progressive Party candidates ahead of next month’s local elections.
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