The US is having misgivings over President Chen Shui-bian's (
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was speaking in San Francisco, where he greeted Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on her stopover en route to Latin America and the Caribbean for a 12-day visit to three Taiwanese allies -- Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Paraguay.
With regard to the UN bid and referendum plans, Wu said the US State Department had made Washington's stance on the matter very clear.
Wu was referring to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack's comments last month that the US "opposes any initiative that appears designed to change Taiwan's status unilaterally. This would include a referendum on whether to apply to the UN under the name of Taiwan."
"While such a referendum would have no practical impact on Taiwan's UN status, it would increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait," McCormack said.
Wu said Washington was concerned that a bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" might violate one of the promises Chen made about not changing the nation's official title.
However, Wu said that Chen had no plans to change the nation's title.
A number of Taiwanese government agencies have concluded that it would be more reasonable and feasible to join the UN as "Taiwan," he said.
Wu said he and officials from other agencies would continue to communicate with the US in an attempt to bridge differences between the two sides.
Taiwan failed to gain membership in the WHO under the name "Taiwan" in May, but is planning to use a similar model to apply for UN membership in September.
Chen has unveiled a plan to push for a referendum on the UN bid in tandem with next year's presidential election to "make the world aware of the Taiwanese people's desire to join the UN."
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