Taiwan breathed a sigh of relief yesterday in the wake of the summit between US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
"President Bush's remarks so far have not sacrificed the interests of Taiwan," said Eugene Chien (
"Although both reached a consensus on certain issues, they remained far apart on other issues, including the issue of Taiwan," Chien said of the remarks made by Bush and Jiang during a joint press conference after the summit.
Such a scenario fits in with Taipei's evaluation of the likely outcome of the Bush-Jiang summit as well as the US' earlier notification to Taiwan of the details of Bush's trip to China, Chien added.
Chien also had praise for Bush's remarks on the US' longstanding adherence to a peaceful solution to cross-strait relations, and the US adherence to the Taiwan Relations Act, under which the US is committed to providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Chen Shih-meng (
Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans, spokesperson of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), offered her comment on Bush's remarks on the thorny issue of Taiwan.
"It is good that the president reiterated the US' `one China' policy and the US' commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act," Mudd-Krijgelmans told the Taipei Times yesterday evening at her residence during a poetry recital function when asked to comment on Bush's remarks during the press conference.
Bush said during the news conference that there was no change to US policy towards Taiwan.
"We believe in the peaceful settlement of this issue. We'll urge there will be no provocation. The United States will continue to support Taiwan Relations Act," Bush said.
"China's future is for the Chi-nese people to decide. Yet no nation is exempt from the demand of human dignity," Bush said.
"All the world's people, including the people of China, should be free to choose how to live, worship and how to work," he added.
"We applaud Bush's remarks on the demand for human dignity as well as religious freedom," Chien said.
Jiang told reporters at the press conference that "to properly handle the Taiwan question is vital to stability and growth of China-US relations."
Jiang also said he reiterated China's basic position on the issue of Taiwan during the summit, namely "peaceful reunification and `one country, two systems' for the solution of the Taiwan question."
"President Bush emphasized that the US upholds the `one China' policy and will abide by three signed joint communiques," Jiang said.
In addition to the issue of Taiwan, the summit also touched upon other sensitive issues ranging from religious freedom, human rights and weapons proliferation.
Chien also expressed Taipei's appreciation of Bush's firm support for Taiwan expressed throughout his trip to Asia.
Analysts have said the US has tried to downplay issues related to Taiwan during Bush's trip to China as the US seeks China's cooperation in the ongoing campaign against terrorism while trying to find leverage by highlighting other issues such as China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Chien said better US-China relations would not come at Taiwan's expense.
"While relations between US and China are expected to get better, it's also our hope that US-Taiwan relations can advance in parallel," Chien said.
Bush began a two-day visit to China yesterday, 30 years to the day since former US president Richard Nixon made an icebreaking visit to China ending longstanding enmity between Washington and Beijing.
The foreign ministry set up a high-level task force last week to monitor Bush's visit to Asia around the clock.
Michael Kao (
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