Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh, who returned from his 10-day trip to the US yesterday morning, told a press conference that he and the US officials he met -- from the US State Department, Department of Defense, the office of US Vice President Dick Cheney and important aides to both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party -- "had engaged each other in the most honest and effective communication."
Hsieh also said he conveyed to the US officials Taiwan's urgent need to solidify its national consciousness and it's feeling of being isolated in the world.
Hsieh said that he communicated the idea that the referendum on applying for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" is a necessary step to improve the nation's security.
"But we are also willing to find co-existence between Taiwan's interests and the US' interests," he said.
"The US is not against Taiwan's pursuit of democracy and our desire to be masters of our own fate through referendums," Hsieh said.
"What the US is concerned about is whether we respect it as a friend," he said.
"We need to create a win-win situation between the US and Taiwan," he said.
Hsieh said he told the US officials that the DPP was not pushing the UN bid to change the "status quo" but because "Taiwan needs to gain representation in the world."
"Based on the UN's principles, it is very strange that the 23 million people in Taiwan are not represented in there," he said.
Hsieh said reasons for pushing the UN bid under the name "Taiwan" include the nation's many failed attempts to join the UN under the name "Republic of China," the fact that the People's Republic of China does not represent Taiwan and that the name "Taiwan" is better known around the world than "Republic of China."
"It is OK that they [the international community] call us `Chinese Taipei.' Of course we can also be called `Taiwan,'" he said.
Hsieh said many factors had contributed to the low mutual trust between the US and Taiwan over the past seven years, adding that Taiwan's delayed arms procurement was one of them.
Hsieh criticized Chinese Nationalist Party counterpart Ma Ying-jeou (
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