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US official again voices opposition to referendum

With the Presidential Office planning to send a high-ranking delegation to Washington in mid-January, the US government has reiterated its opposition to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) plan to hold a referendum and has again urged Chen to stick to the "five noes" pledge he made when he became president in 2000.

"Clearly, we've said that we oppose any unilateral measures that affect the status quo, including this referendum," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said during his daily press briefing.

"We have made our concerns very well known. I think they're a matter of public record and private discussions. And we would urge the government of Taiwan to heed them," he said.

One day after Chen signed the Referendum Law (公投法), the Presidential Office yesterday confirmed the planned visit to Washington to assure the US government that Chen's proposed March 20 referendum will not violate his " five noes" pledge, but said the visit has yet to be agreed by both sides.

The administration of US President George W. Bush has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the referendum over the past several weeks, as Chen has pressed his intention to go ahead with the vote in the face of increased saber-rattling by Beijing and US concerns over maintaining good relations with China.

These concerns came to a head on Dec. 9, when Bush met visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) in the Oval Office. Bush took Chen to task for planning the referendum, which Bush warned could endanger the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait.

The delegation's trip is expected to be an attempt to allay US fears over the referendum, and to explain that it would not endanger US interests or the status quo.

Mainland Affairs Council Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and several other officials in Chen's administration visited the US capital in mid-November, when the issue of Chen's plans for a referendum and a new constitution for Taiwan began to raise hackles in Washington.
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