US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's decision to vent high-level US anger in a Chinese TV interview at President Chen Shui-bian's (
In the interview on Monday in Washington, Negroponte charged that the referendum was a move toward a declaration of independence, the most severe criticism a US official can level at a Taiwanese leader, given US fears that a declaration would foment Chinese military action that could suck US armed forces into a conflict with China.
The interview was intended to convey many messages, sources said.
PHOTO: AFP
It was intended to convey to Chen Washington's deep disdain for many of his actions, especially the referendum, while reiterating the US' great friendship with Taiwan. It was also meant to assure China that the US is working hard to contain Chen, not just at the lower level of the foreign policy bureaucracy, but at the highest levels in the Bush administration.
It was a message that "the emperor does know" about the situation, one source said.
It apparently was also timed to coincide with Chen's transit via Anchorage, Alaska, to and from Central America, and in advance of key US-China meetings next month at the APEC summit in Australia, the visit to Washington shortly thereafter of China's top Taiwan affairs official and the opening of the UN General Assembly next month.
While the State Department on Tuesday tried to paint Negroponte's statement as merely a reiteration of long-standing policy, observers said it was clearly a "ratcheting up" of the US warnings about the referendum "at a high level."
The connection with Chen's transit absorbed the thinking of some observers in Washington in the wake of the interview, which Negroponte granted on Monday to Phoenix TV, a Hong Kong-based station owned by a Chinese businessman and beamed mainly to senior Chinese government officials, the Beijing diplomatic corps, foreign and elite local businessman, the expatriate community and Western tourists.
A transcript was made available by e-mail shortly after the interview, allowing the Taiwanese press corp and anybody else interested in cross-strait relations to read it the same day.
Phoenix had a long-standing request for an interview, with the last follow-up request last month in connection with Democratic Progressive party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) visit to Washington, when Negroponte happened to be out of town.
Last week, Negroponte's office decided that the time for the interview had come. The office decided that "it was the right time to send this kind of a message," according to a source familiar with the arrangements.
It was agreed that the interview would be about Taiwan and the referendum, and the questions were discussed beforehand.
The decision last week to demonstrate Washington's anger came after Chen, during his stopover in Alaska en route to Central America, complained loudly about his treatment, in which he was limited to a 50 minute refueling stop, calling the arrangements a slap in the face of the Taiwanese.
That may have impelled the department to arrange the interview a day before Chen was to return through Alaska and meet with American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt, who would have access to a copy of the interview to show to Chen during their meeting.
Sources say, however, that an important message for Taiwan in the interview was to reinforce the US friendship for Taiwan, which Negroponte emphasized at the beginning of his remarks.
"Let me say first that Taiwan has no better friend than the United States," he told the interviewer, adding kudos for Taiwan's democracy and economy and repeating the US commitment to Taiwan's defense.
But he also complained that Chen had broken his commitment made in his first inaugural address to the so-called "four noes," in which he pledged, among other things, not to change Taiwan's official name.
The Bush administration has never forgiven Chen for actions it sees as violating that pledge, and those actions, in the Bush administration's eyes, have poisoned relations ever since.
How Chen reacts to Negroponte's message will be an important signal to Washington, sources said. That would include what he says to Burghardt in Anchorage.
Bush will be looking at Chen's response in advance of his APEC bilateral with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and may want to say something publicly about Taiwan.
After that meeting, Chen Yunlin (
Also see story:
Editorial: What does `friendship' mean?
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS