The George W. Bush administration is pleased that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) changed the wording of his planned election-day referendum, but has deferred any definitive response until after the Lunar New Year holiday, observers in Washington said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday that the administration is studying the matter and has not decided whether the language announced by Chen on Friday is sufficient to address US concerns that the referendum would alter the status quo.
But observers said the administration's response to the new wording was on balance positive and, in the words of former American Institute in Taiwan chief Nat Bellocchi, the administration is "sighing a sigh of relief."
Powell was asked about the referendum in a State Department press conference after meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Yashiwan Sinha.
Asked about harsh criticism from a Chinese official of the revised referendum wording and whether the new formulation could be seen as altering the status quo, Powell said, "it remains to be seen."
"We're still studying the language in the referendum, and we are also studying the response that we've heard from Beijing," Powell said.
He reiterated Washington's commitment to a "one China" policy "undergirded by" the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, saying "we believe that this is the way to move forward."
"No unilateral action should be taken which would prejudice the ability to move forward and achieve reconciliation in due course," he said.
Observers feel that the administration is not ready to deal with the Taiwan issue as a major priority. In addition to the administration's ongoing preoccupation with Iraq, North Korea and terrorism, Bush and his senior officials have domestic issues to deal with.
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