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Senator warns that US is not obliged to help defend Taiwan

US Senator Dianne Feinstein on Thursday asserted that the US is under no legal obligation to defend Taiwan and fingered President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as the person who is rocking the boat in cross-strait relations.

According to the Mercury News, Feinstein, a Democrat, told the audience at the annual conference of the Committee of 100 in San Francisco on Thursday that the US has no duty to defend Taiwan if it provokes China into a military confrontation.

The Committee of 100 is a nonprofit organization whose membership make-up is predominantly Chinese-American business and cultural leaders.

"It is important to point out a common misconception -- nowhere does the TRA explicitly require the US to go to war with the mainland over Taiwan," the California Senator was quoted as saying by the Mercury News.

Feinstein is known for her generally favorable stance toward China. Her family are long-time friends of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民).

Her remarks came against the backdrop of Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) visit in Washington Thursday. US President George W. Bush met with Hu and discussed a wide range of issues including Taiwan.

Taiwanese-American groups were upset at Feinstein's remarks.

"I'm disappointed that a US senator has misinterpreted the law," Kuor Hsin Chang of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) was quoted as saying by the Mercury News.

While declining to comment on Feinstein's remarks, an official from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco said Taiwan wishes to maintain peace and is not in a position to provoke anyone to go to war for Taiwan, said the Mercury News.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Feinstein also called on Beijing to remove the hundreds of missiles it has aimed at Taiwan.
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