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US State Department welcomes Wu's appointment

The US State Department, in its first official comment on the replacement of Taiwan's representative in Washington, said on Tuesday that the US expected its constructive relationship with Taiwan to continue.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack made the remarks during a routine press conference in which he was asked about his view on Taiwan's decision to appoint Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to replace David Lee (李大維) as the head of its mission in the US.

Wu, who is widely seen as having a very close relationship with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), will be the first political appointee from the Democratic Progressive Party(DPP) to be posted in the US capital.

Asked whether the personnel reshuffle will make US-Taiwan dialogue easier, McCormack responded by saying that "we look forward to continued close, beneficial relations with the people of Taiwan."

During the press conference, McCormack was also asked about his opinion on the DPP administration's plan to promote a bill that would elevate all Taiwanese languages to the same level as Mandarin Chinese.

In response, McCormack said: "We have seen reports that the Taiwan Cabinet is considering a draft law that would confer equal status on Mandarin, the Taiwanese dialect [also known as Hoklo], the Hakka dialect and several Aboriginal languages in use on the island. We have no further information at this time."
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