In an effort to build relationships with US Congress members and influential think tanks, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (
"Although the exact date of Chairman Su's trip to US has not been decided upon, he will make his US trip for about one week in the summer, after the National Assembly representatives are elected on May 14," Hsiao said.
Hsiao is on the Legislative Yuan's foreign affairs committee, and has also served as an adviser and interpreter for President Chen Shui-bian (
As the director of the DPP's Department of International Affairs under four DPP chairmen, including Lin I-hsiung (
When Su met with American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal two month ago, he said that he would try to establish a smooth channel of communications between the DPP and US officials and create comprehensive interaction with the US. Therefore, Hsiao said, the focal point of Su's US trip will be to build mutual understanding between the DPP and major US policymaking and research institutes.
"During his US visit, Su will work on party diplomacy and will convey the DPP's voice to the US Congress and think tanks. And at the same, he will try to understand what political circles in Washington think about the DPP's policies," Hsiao said.
But Hsiao declined to note whether Su would bring a message from Chen to US officials regarding recent political developments between Taiwan and China, saying that everything is still in the planning stages.
"Whether Bejing proposed its `Anti-Secession' Law or not, I think it is the duty of the DPP chairman to pay a visit to the US and other countries to establish channels of communication," she said.
When asked for her observations about US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Beijing and her comments on the Anti-Secession Law, Hsiao said that according to her sources, Rice's seemingly mild remarks on Beijing's legislation actually revealed a strong reaction from the US.
"In my opinion, judging from a series of statements that the US made with regard to China's Anti-Secession Law -- including Rice's -- although [the response] was not as strong as we expected, it was still negative," Hsiao said.
"In fact, some US government officials told me that sometimes they privately convey messages or their concerns to Chinese representatives about issues like the Anti-Secession Law," Hsiao said. "As far as I know, the US holds a strong attitude [toward the law] on private occasions, but not in public ones."
Hsiao said that the US knows clearly that it needs to maintain cooperation with China, while the two countries' relationship actually comprises an element of competition, unlike relationships in which the US shares common ground in values, such as with Japan or Australia.
"You may notice that Bush used the word `cooperation' rather than `partnership' when he referred to the US' relationship with China," she said.
"Now that China's legislation has become a fait accompli and it seems impossible for it to be revised, I think the most important thing for us to think about is what our next step will be after the March 26 rally," she added.
Hsiao also denounced China's attempts to degrade Taiwan's sovereignty by offering to let Taiwan to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) under the name of "Taiwan, China."
"The Taiwanese people will only have a stronger antipathy toward China, and it won't do any good to build cross-strait mutual reliance," Hsiao said. She added that this offer was like a knife that cuts Taiwan two ways.
"If Taiwan accepts China's offer, we will lose our sovereignty and dignity. If we refuse its offer, the international society might not be able to understand the reason why we have rejected joining the WHA, and we might lose sympathy and support for Taiwan, " Hsiao said.
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