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No change to US policy on Taiwan, insists Wu

"Now that Bush has complimented Taiwan on its democracy, the US government should respect Taiwanese people's right to exercise sovereignty."

David Huang, DPP legislator

Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that US policy on cross-strait relations hasn't changed after US President George W. Bush's recent meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), which can set Taiwan's mind at ease.

Wu made the remarks while reporting on recent US-Taiwan-China relations in the Legislature's Home and Nations Committee yesterday.

Wu said that the government had been kept informed about the discussion on the Taiwan issue before and after talks between Bush and Hu.

"There are benefits for the US and China if they cooperate with each other, but it's also difficult for them to reconcile contradictory issues in such a short time," Wu said.

He added that their disagreements include trade frictions, the Taiwan issue, China's human rights situation and political reform.

"On the one hand, the US government seeks to cooperate with China against terrorism and North Korea's nuclear weapons. On the other, the US also seeks to contain the negative influences of China's military expansion," Wu said.

Wu said that the increasing threat China's military posed to the Taiwan Strait region had especially raised US concerns.

Facing a rising China and the growing cross-strait military imbalance, the US government has actively enhanced its cooperation with allies in the region, Wu said.

"In this transitional period, it is also important for the government to play a more active role in the regional cooperation to maintain peace and stability in this area," he said.

During the committee meeting, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator David Huang (黃適卓) asked Wu to tell the US government not to deprive the Taiwanese people of the right to enact a new constitution and change the country's name from "Republic of China" to "Taiwan," because blocking such efforts would contradict Bush's praise for the nation's democratic development.

"Now that Bush has complimented Taiwan on its democracy, the US government should respect Taiwanese people's right to exercise sovereignty," Huang said.
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