`Taiwan' passport doesn't impact US

"There simply has not been any shift in our policy toward Taiwan or toward the entire matter."

Richard N. Haass, director of the US State Department policy planning bureau

US Department of State Spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday that the Taiwan authorities' decision to change the cover of the Taiwan passport has nothing to do with the US and will not affect Washington's Taiwan policy.

Boucher the remarks while responding to questions raised at a daily briefing.

Commenting Taipei's decision to change the cover of the passport to include the word "Taiwan," effective Sept. 1, Boucher said: "This is a matter for a decision by the Taiwan authorities. It is their decision and we were not part of it."

Pointing that the officials in authorities have stated publicly that adding "Taiwan" to the cover of the passport does not represent any change in policy, Boucher said that "there is certainly no change in the US `one China' policy either."

He added that the Taipei passport decision will not affect "how the US handles travel by, or travel documents of, the people of Taiwan."

According to Minister of Foreign Affaris Eugene Chien (簡又新), his ministry decided on the change because foreign immigration officials and air carriers often mistake "Republic of China" for "People's Republic of China," China's official name, which often causes trouble for passport holders from Taiwan.

Richard Haass, director of the US Department of State Policy Planning Bureau, said Friday that US President George W. Bush's recent meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) does not represent any change in Washington's cross-strait policy.

Haass the remarks while explaining US cross-strait policy following the Bush-Hu meeting at an online press conference.

In his meeting with Hu June 1 in Evian, France, where the leaders of the G8 industrialized nations gathered to meet with leaders from developing countries -- including China -- Bush reaffirmed Washington's "one China" policy and the US stance of no support for Taiwan independence.

The views voiced during the meeting over the cross-strait issue prompted analyses from scholars, with some expressing concern with the direction of the US' China policy.

In response to questions as to whether Bush's words at the meeting represent a change in US policy, Haass said that the brief answer is "no change."

"There has been no policy shift," he said, adding that it is still governed by US commitments under the three communiques as well as the Taiwan Relations Act. "There simply has not been any shift in our policy toward Taiwan or toward the entire matter," the official said.

Meanwhile, Philip Reeker, US Department of State deputy spokesman, also said Friday that supporting Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly as an observer is a consistent policy of the US rather than a policy made under pressure from Congress.