The US said it was satisfied with the way that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) dealt with the National Unification Council and guidelines on Monday, saying that his action in mothballing the council did not amount to a unilateral change in the status quo, thus satisfying Washington's main concern in relation to the dispute.
"We welcome President Chen's reaffirmation of his administration's commitment to cross-strait peace and stability, and Taiwan's commitment to the pledges that President Chen made in his inaugural address to not unilaterally alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in Washington.
Chen's decision "did not abolish the National Unification Council," McClellan said.
PHOTO: CNA
The laudatory tone was echoed by Adam Ereli, the State Department spokesman, who told his daily press briefing that Chen "reaffirmed his continuing commitment to the pledges he made in his 2000 inaugural address not to change the status quo across the Straits [sic]."
But Ereli indicated that the wording Chen used in his announcement may not have completely erased the mistrust that the issue has stirred up.
"We attach great importance to that commitment," Ereli said, "and we'll be following his follow-through carefully."
"And we certainly look forward to [Chen] fulfilling those commitments," he said.
McClellan and Ereli also called on Beijing to open a dialogue with Chen and his government to work out differences on cross-strait policy, indicating that they felt Chen's compromise on the unification issue should be reciprocated by Beijing by opening dialogue with Chen's government.
"The United States continues to also stress the need for Beijing to open a meaningful dialogue with the duly elected leadership in Taiwan that leads to a peaceful resolution of their differences," McClellan said.
Ereli declined to say whether the US considered the unification council issue closed.
"For us, the episode is closed or the issue is closed when parties on both sides of the Straits [sic] resolve their differences [through cross-strait dialogue," he said.
The wording of Chen's announcement that the council will "cease functioning" and the guidelines will "cease to apply" was the result of weeks of intense pressure exerted on Chen by the Bush administration not to abolish the council.
After his Lunar New Year speech late last month, when Chen first announced that he was considering scrapping the council and guidelines, the US complained loudly that such a move would unilaterally change the "status quo" across the Taiwan Strait, breaking a bedrock principle of US cross-strait policy.
After weeks of jawboning -- including the dispatch of high-level US officials to Taipei for talks with Chen, the details of which remain secret -- the US managed to get Chen to back away from his abolition plan.
But US officials refused to say whether the words Chen used on Monday were dictated by them.
The logjam was broken several days ago, when Chen agreed to "freeze," rather than "abolish," the workings of the council and applicability of the guidelines.
It is not clear what Chen got in return for bowing to US pressure. US officials say there was no quid pro quo, such as a pledge by Washington to lean harder on Beijing to open talks with the Chen government.
But Ereli asserted that there cannot be meaningful cross-strait dialogue "if there isn't the confidence between both sides that the other one isn't taking unilateral steps."
According to Ereli, Chen's words amounted to "freezing" the unification mechanism, an acceptable compromise between the conflicting desires of Chen and Washington.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
RSS