Sat, Jan 03, 2004 page3

• US envoy's resignation denied

  • By Melody Chen / STAFF REPORTER
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  Government officials yesterday denied that Taiwan's top representative to the US, Chen Chien-jen (程建人), has decided to resign due to the increased pressure of handling US-Taiwan relations following the announcement of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) referendum plan.

  Chen Chien-jen, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, returned to Taipei on Sunday. His packed schedule includes meetings with the president, Premier Yu Shyi-kun and other government officials.

  He was scheduled to have a coffee-break meeting with reporters yesterday afternoon, but cancelled the meeting due to health problems, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

  "People come under pressure no matter what they do. Pressure can push people to work harder," Chen Chien-jen said before undergoing a health check at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

  Responding to a media report that Chen Chien-jen had decided to hand in his resignation after settling the referendum issue with the US, Yu said the envoy did not mention resigning at all during a meeting on Thursday.

  At this meeting Chen Chien-jen briefed Yu on Taiwan-US ties and the US' attitude concerning the government's proposed referendum. Yu said Chen Chien-jen had told him that the US' fundamental policy toward Taiwan had not changed.

  Chen Chien-jen on Monday told the legislature that he and his colleagues were facing an "unprecedented situation" in trying to communicate with the US regarding the referendum issue, which he admitted has strained the relationship between Taiwan and the US.

  He acknowledged that he had come under increased pressure to address US concerns about the referendum.

  Yu said Chen Chien-jen would not resign before March 20, the day the presidential election as well as the referendum are slated to take place. He said Chen Chien-jen would remain in his post until at least May 20, when the new president is to be inaugurated.

  The envoy is believed to have been one of the key figures that had contributed to Chen Shui-bian's high-profile reception by the US during his stopover in New York in October last year.

  "Chen Chien-jen is an able and professional diplomat," Yu said.

  Although Chen Chien-jen is a former member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), he is not currently affiliated with any party and "has devoted himself to our country regardless of political party barriers," Yu said.

  Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新), who has held long discussions with Chen Chien-jen on the referendum issue, said the envoy is "full of confidence in communicating with the US about Taiwan's referendum."

  "He [Chen Chien-jen] is reasonably optimistic about communications with the US. He did not mention anything about resignation to me," Chien said.

  Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said Chen Chien-jen had told the president several times that he was ready to resign if a suitable candidate can be found to take over his position.

  "The president highly approves of the envoy's performance and hopes he can continue serving our country," Huang said.

  Chen Chien-jen was appointed to his current position in 2000. He has previously offered to resign after airport guards had conducted a physical search of first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) during her US visit, but the president did not accept the resignation.

  The KMT called for his resignation last year after criticizing his reception of Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), wife of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), at the airport when she visited the US.

  "Every time Chen Chien-jen returned to Taipei for briefings or did something that the KMT was unhappy with, the KMT would ask him to resign," said the Democratic Progressive Party's legislative caucus leader, Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
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