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Lu embarks on 13-day tour of allies

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday embarked on a 13-day visit to three of the nation's allies in Central America and the Caribbean.

Lu, who left at around 11pm last night, will make an overnight stop in San Francisco en route to the Dominican Republic and a four-hour stopover in Los Angeles on her return. She will also stop in New Orleans, Louisiana and Austin, Texas, for refuelling. During the brief stop in Panama, she will meet Panamanian Vice President Samuel Lewis Navarro.

The main purpose of Lu's trip will be to attend celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Paraguay. Lu will also pay a visit to Guatemala.

Lu, who will arrive in the Dominican Republic tomorrow, plans to stay in the Caribbean country for three nights before heading to Paraguay, where she will also stay three nights. Lu will arrive in Guatemala on July 9 and stay there for three nights before leaving for Taipei on July 11.

The vice president said that she would meet US officials, including American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, during the layover in San Francisco.

Lu said she would tell them that the country had no alternative but to apply to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" because the nation's sovereignty must be upheld.

The UN bid did not amount to changing the name of the country nor violate the "four noes" pledge President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made, she said.

Lu said she would emphasize that the pledge Chen made to the US government, US President George W. Bush and the international community would be kept.

The "four noes" refer to the pledge Chen made as part of his inauguration speech in 2000. Chen promised that as long as China did not use military force against Taiwan, he would not declare independence, not change the national title, not enshrine the "state-to-state" model in the Constitution, nor endorse a referendum on formal independence.

Lu said she would urge the US government to pay attention to China's military buildup, which she said had unilaterally changed the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. She said she hoped the US would consider selling more weapons to Taiwan and amending the Taiwan Relations Act.

She also said the US should urge the EU to continue its arms embargo against China and call on the international community to pressure China to resolve cross-strait differences peacefully.

In light of China's diplomatic suppression, Lu said she would request that the US government reaffirm its "six assurances" pledge.

The "six assurances" refer to the pledge made in 1982 by late US president Ronald Reagan, in which he promised that the US would not set a date for termination of arms sales to Taiwan; alter the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act [TRA]; consult with China in advance before making decisions about US arms sales to Taiwan; mediate between Taiwan and China; alter its position about the sovereignty of Taiwan, which was that the question was one to be decided peacefully by the people of Taiwan themselves, or pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China; or formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
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