Fri, Sep 22, 2000 page1

• Clinton warned Jiang on talk delays

  CROSS-STRAIT When the US president met with China's paramount leader this month, he said China and Taiwan should resume dialogue as soon as possible

  • By Charles Snyder / STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
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  US President Clinton told China's President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) this month that any delay in resuming cross-strait dialogue could result in a hardening of positions on both sides that could make future talks more difficult to arrange or conclude, a US official said.

  Clinton delivered the message when he met with Jiang in New York on Sept. 8 during the UN millennium summit.

  Clinton aimed his statements at both sides and did not mean them as a criticism of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), as some Chinese officials have contended, said the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

  The official also said he was optimistic that the two sides are not far apart on their interpretations of a formula that can be used as the basis of any cross-strait talks.

  "My view is that they're getting close, and the differences are not that great," he said.

  "I hope and expect that within a fairly short time, the two sides will find a formula that they both consider satisfactory, as they did back in 1988, in order to permit the process to go forward."

  The comments were the most optimistic by any US official in a position of authority on the prospects for a resumption of cross-strait dialogue in recent months.

  The official said Washington feels that the election of Chen opened up a fresh window of opportunity for new talks. He noted that statements by Chen and other Taiwan officials have been "expressions of willingness" to get the process going.

  While he said that Beijing's position remains to "wait and watch" what Chen and his government do in coming months, he has not interpreted any statement coming out of Beijing as "precluding the possibility" of talks soon.

  It was not completely clear whether the official was expressing his own personal feelings or whether his comments to the press reflected the Clinton administration's viewpoint.

  It is in both sides' interest to resume talks, the US official said. For Taiwan, a stable cross-strait situation is needed to allow Chen to carry out his economic priorities and domestic program.

  For Beijing, "there's a point at which it is in their interest to see forward movement after a period of stagnation," he said. "At some point, it is more appropriate to declare victory and go forward than it is to keep waiting for something that is going to be harder or impossible to achieve" as time goes by.

  The official seemed to feel that a statement by Vice Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛) in August that the mainland and Taiwan are both part of China was a positive statement.

  He said China purposely brought Washington's attention to the statement as a definitive response to comments made since the election and even before the election by Chen.

  While this was not a new formulation, and was nearly identical to one enunciated by China's top cross-strait negotiator Wang Daohan (汪道涵) in 1998, the fact that it came from somebody as senior as Qian made it more authoritative, the US official said.

  He also suggested that Taiwan consider interim agreements, even a series of small ones, if needed to advance cross-strait dialogue.
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