The Bush administration is furious over Chinese assertions that Taiwan's delegation was not invited to the official ceremonies marking the second inauguration of President George W. Bush, and has pointedly refuted what it considers to be Beijing's deliberate misrepresentation of Washington's private statements to it on the matter.
Taiwan's delegation, headed by Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), was clearly invited by the inauguration committee to this week's gala inauguration events, a senior administration official told the Taipei Times, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The Taiwan people are represented in the same manner as they were in the 2001 inauguration, and the administration is very pleased that the people of Taiwan are represented in a celebration of democracy," the official said.
Welcomed
"We were informed that the delegation would come and that Dr. Lee would lead it, and we welcome that," the official said.
"We look forward to the opportunity to interact," with Lee and the delegation, the official added.
The official accused Beijing of trying to create the false impression that Taiwan's status was being downgraded by the Bush administration.
"It's actually quite the contrary," he said.
The administration took umbrage at a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry that Beijing "was clearly told that the US did not invite or recognize the so-called envoy delegation sent by Taiwan."
China "has expressed concerns over this to the US," the statement added.
What actually transpired in closed-door meetings after the Chinese embassy complained about the Taiwanese delegation to the State Department, was that the US side said that "technically" no government has been invited, government sources say.
Only the Washington diplomatic corps was invited.
Those diplomats, of course, could invite anybody they wanted to join them.
`Distorted'
The Chinese distorted this response to mean that Taiwan was not represented, and said as much in its public statement, US officials told the Taipei Times.
In response to the statement from China's ministry, a senior US official said that, "Dr Lee is a world-renowned scientist and has represented the people of Taiwan at four APEC summits, and is well know in the United States. We were well aware that he was coming, and welcome his visit."
"It is important for people to understand that this is at the same level as in the past," the official reiterated.
The US official also disclosed that the Taiwanese delegation, whose leading official is Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), will "have an opportunity for unofficial discussions on matters of mutual concern with relevant officials and members of Congress."
In the past, the US has refused to acknowledge the existence of such talks.
The reference to 2001 is significant in that Bush came into office as an unabashed supporter of Taiwan, against China, which was called a "competitor," in his election campaign. That policy was reinforced in April 2001, when Bush told a television interviewer that his administration would do "whatever it took" to help defend Taiwan, and agreed to an unprecedented multi-billion dollar arms package.
Referendum slap
But by late 2003 that policy had undergone a dramatic about-face, when Bush publicly issued a personal slap at President Chen Shui-bian's (
The White House has continued to seek better relations with China as a partner in the war on terrorism and for Beijing's aid in advancing talks to convince North Korea to end its nuclear weapons development program.
Anti-secession Law
More recently, the Bush administration's failure to publicly criticize Beijing planned anti-secession law -- that could mandate a military attack on Taiwan if it moves toward independence -- plus comments by Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage, might also have emboldened China to feel Washington was ready to move closer to accepting Beijing's positions on Taiwan.
In recent weeks, Powell has mentioned US acceptance of Taiwan "reunification" with China, and Armitage has said Washington agrees that Taiwan is part of China.
Both statements went to the core of Beijing's "one China" principle. US officials had earlier distanced themselves from that principle.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai