Cross-strait officials and analysts yesterday downplayed US Secre-tary of State Colin Powell's recent assertion that Taiwan "does not enjoy sovereignty," stressing that the "one China" policy had not been "fundamentally changed" in light of the remarks.
"Taiwan, with the national title of Republic of China, is an independent, sovereign country. This is an undeniable fact. Taiwan is not under the People's Republic of China's jurisdiction," Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told the Taipei Times.
Powell had expressed opposition to any "unilateral action that would prejudice an eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking" during an interview conducted by CNN in Beijing on Monday.
He also told Hong Kong's Phoenix TV that "It [Taiwan] does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation."
Wu said the US State Department had already publicly stated that the "one China" policy had not been altered and said that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) adherence to the content of his inauguration and National Day speech remained unchanged as well.
Wu spoke with the Taipei Times yesterday after a high-level government meeting on Powell's comments.
"In addition, the president already expressed in his inaugural address on May 20 this year that he will not rule out any sort of political relationship with China as long as it is an arrangement to which Taiwan's 23 million citizens agree," Wu said.
Alexander Huang (黃介正), a director of Tamkang University Graduate Institute of Strategic and International Studies and former vice chairman of the council, also felt that Powell's remarks did not indicate any significant change in policy.
"This can be considered a setback for this round ? Taiwan was partially humiliated or insulted," Huang said, but noted that no fundamental change had been made to Washington's "one China" policy.
Huang interpreted Powell's comments to be targeted at the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the US.
However, he warned that the nation had to acknowledge that recent events in Taiwan could have prompted Powell's responses during the interviews in China.
"The US government praised Chen's inaugural address and the Double Ten speech ? but even as the US sees [President] Chen as the ultimate policymaker, they are annoyed by other factors," Huang said.
Huang was referring to Senior Presidential Adviser Koo Kwang-ming's (
According to Huang, Powell's rhetoric could be seen as a direct response to such events and as such a warning, in effect saying: "Do not deviate from Chen's remarks. Do not change the status quo through words or actions."
However, Lai I-chung (
Lai said that Koo had clearly distanced himself from the Presidential Office in placing the advertisements. He also pointed out that the US could have easily addressed the events directly.
Lai came just short of attributing Powell's remarks to a "slip of the tongue" yesterday, saying that previous statements made by government officials had been such.
"After the interview, Powell nevertheless referred to the president as President Chen Shui-bian," Lai said, adding that perhaps it was an effort to downplay or rectify previous remarks that Taiwan did not enjoy sovereignty. Lai pointed out, however, that the US has never seen Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
According to Lai, the clearest message was the State Department's assertion that Washing-ton's "one China" policy remains unchanged.
He highlighted that Powell's comments had been made during interviews, and not at the formal talks conducted during Powell's visit with state officials.
Lai also attributed the timing of Powell's trip, just days before the US presidential election, to the need to stabilize problems arising from North Korea's nuclear wea-pons program.
Powell has said previously that he plans to step down as State Department head whether there was a change in administration after the Nov. 2 elections or not, and Chinese language reports have likened Powell's visit to Asia to a "graduation trip" of sorts.
"If Powell's trip were just a graduation trip, the question would be why doesn't Powell wait until November," Lai said, adding that North Korea could be a factor in the upcoming elections.
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