In a surprising development during Taiwan's first lady Wu Shu-chen's (
Bolton, an ardent friend of Taiwan and one-time Taipei Times contributing columnist, spent 20 minutes with Wu discussing a broad range of issues related to Taiwan, cross-Strait relations and the US, sources say. They would not give details of the discussions.
One source, however, said that one matter brought up was comments Bolton made that appeared in the Taipei Times the Monday following Chen Shui-bian's March 2000 election. In that article, Bolton was quoted as saying that the US should defend Taiwan against any possible provocation by China, including the frontline islands of Kinmen and Matsu.
Bolton was complaining at the time about the Clinton administration's policy of "strategic ambivalence" in favor of a firmer defense commitment. "If you make a commitment to the use of forces, it has to be a commitment to win," Bolton was quoted as saying.
He also warned at the time that in view of the upcoming US presidential election, "I think your transition from election to inauguration [of Chen as president] is a potentially dangerous time."
Word of the meeting spread after Bolton appeared at a reception for Wu following the first lady's delivery of a speech at the think tank on Taiwan's path to democracy and her and her husband's political struggles toward the presidency.
Bolton was close-mouthed when approached by reporters at the reception. "I'll just say this very briefly: As an alumnus of AEI, I'm very glad she's here and I look forward to the opportunity to talk to her a little bit more."
Pressed by reporters, he said, "I'm here as Under Secretary of State and an alumnus of AEI. That's really all I have to say."
In an effort to not overly annoy Beijing, Wu's visit to Washington is being billed as a private one on both sides. Taiwan officials say that she is not scheduled to meet any George W. Bush administration officials, although some Taiwan sources say that senior State Department officials may telephone Wu to greet her and hold discussions.
Other administration officials were also expected to attend a Capitol Hill reception for her yesterday, given by members of Congress.
But no special face-to-face meetings were planned.
During her AEI speech, Wu departed from the prepared text by emphasizing Taiwan's desire to gain admission to the UN, a theme she stressed in New York last week before coming to Washington.
"Even though we are not a member of the United Nations, as long as Taiwan keeps the faith and perseveres, we will eventually be able to joint the United Nations again," she said.
"We believe that Taiwan is a democratic and free country which respects human rights. There is no reason for us to be excluded from the community of nations. I have confidence that our ongoing effort will enable us to obtain our deserved representation. I also believe it would give us the opportunity to contribute and to play out our responsibility as a member of the global village."
The term, "global village," which Wu has also used before during her trip, is reminiscent of former US first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's book title, It takes a village, a phrase that has entered the American vocabulary. Wu was expected to meet Clinton yesterday during the congressional reception.
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