A US official denied that President George W. Bush had called President Chen Shui-bian (
The US official told the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington that Bush did not make any such comment.
The statement was made to put to rest concerns over remarks by Jia Qinglin (
Jia said that Bush had described Chen as a troublemaker in his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Jia made this comment when he received a Taiwanese delegation, led by Jenny Ma (馬愛珍), chairwoman of the Taiwan Women Entrepreneurs Association, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
It was learned that Taipei's representatives to the US on Wednesday had checked with a US Department of State official who knew the content of the Bush-Hu meeting. After cross-checking the meeting record, the US official said, as far as he understood, Bush did not describe Chen as a "troublemaker."
The US reportedly also felt annoyed by Jia's comment. It is generally believed that Jia has attempted to play the US card to affect Taiwan's presidential election next March, while trying to avoid arousing resentment among Taiwanese by having Beijing intervene directly.
It was understood, according to the US official, that Bush had reiterated the US pledge to abide by the "one China" policy during the meeting with Hu. Bush also expressed his opposition to Taiwan declaring independence, according to the US official.
It is known that "not supporting Taiwan's independence" is the wording Bush's aides used in the information sheets they prepared for the US president. But Bush said both "not supporting Taiwan's independence" and "opposing Taiwan's independence" in his meeting with the Chinese leader. Neither the White House nor the State Department corrected Bush's statement.
However, Bush has never publicly expressed his opposition to Taiwan's independence.
Bush did not clarify himself when Hu told the press after their meeting that Bush had said he "opposes Taiwan independence." Nor did senior White House officials try to offer explanations in the briefing following the Bush-Hu talks.
The US official merely said Bush had told Hu that the US doesn't support Taiwan moving toward independence.
The official also reiterated an earlier statement by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that the US doesn't want either side of the Taiwan Strait changing the status quo unilaterally in a way that would upset peace and stability.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
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