Lu weighs in on Crawford summit

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that remarks made Saturday by US President George W. Bush have done no harm to Taiwan.

Although Bush told visiting Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) that his administration does not support Taiwan independence, Lu said Taiwan is none the worse for the statement.

Instead of worrying about what some analysts called Washington's tilt toward Beijing, Lu said, "Taiwan should concentrate on its own business."

She made the comments to reporters while she attended a meeting intended to promote volunteer work.

Speaking at the gathering, Lu lauded volunteer work as "the fifth estate," which she claimed "will exercise a greater influence on society" than the other four estates -- the executive, the legislature, justice and the media.

She urged the country's youth to join volunteer groups to serve their communities and the country.

In a related development that day, Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), secretary-general of the Office of the President, played down the significance of Bush's remarks, saying Washington's policy toward Taiwan should be judged by how his administration has interacted with Taiwan in general rather than by any single word from the president.

"I am not sensitive enough to see what changes, if any, in Washington's policy on Taiwan were implied in Bush's remarks on Saturday." Chen said.

Taipei's de facto ambassador to Washington, Chen Chien-jen (程建人), said Saturday that Bush and Jiang only reiterated their government's existing policies and no new ground was broken, although he added that Washington has not yet briefed Taiwan on the details of the Saturday's talks.

Chen said that Washington usually briefs Taipei prior to talks with Beijing and gives a rundown of the talks afterward. His office was informed beforehand of the meeting, including how long it was expected to last, which officials would be present and other details, he said

Apparently at Beijing's urging, Bush was quoted as telling Jiang that his government does not support Taiwan independence, but he also reiterated Washington's longstanding policy that the Taiwan-China dispute should be solved peacefully.

Political analysts in Washington said Bush's statement will soothe the hawks in Beijing who are dissatisfied with what they consider Jiang's weak stand on Taiwan.

North Korea, which admitted that it was developing nuclear weapons earlier this month, gave Jiang extra bargaining power in the talks, as Washington will ask Beijing to refrain from helping Pyongyang to build a nuclear arsenal, the analysts said.