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Former State Department official Schriver to visit

Former US deputy assistant secretary of state Randall Schriver said on Thursday he is scheduled to visit Taiwan next month and will meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

Schriver made the remarks while meeting a group of journalists from Taiwan, along with Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Huang Wei-feng (黃偉峰).

He discussed cross-strait relations and relations between Taiwan, the US and China.

Schriver, who recently retired from the State Department, said he has met Chen on many occasions in the past few years. He said he believes that Chen fully understands the cross-strait situation.

When he visits Taipei Schriver said he would not take the initiative to offer any advice about cross-strait issues.

"But if President Chen asks me, I would take pleasure in offering my own opinions," he said.

Touching on the meeting in September between US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Schriver said he believes they will focus their discussions on US-China trade and the North Korean issue.

He said he doesn't think anything new regarding the Taiwan issue will be forthcoming.

Schriver said that although China shows some "creativity" in dealing with the Taiwan issue, it has so far not demonstrated any "flexibility" in its stance. Since both the US and China have their own stances, he said, they are unlikely to come up with any new overture on the Taiwan issue.
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