Taiwan's government officials reiterated yesterday that an LA Times columnist had misunderstood President Lee Teng-hui's (
LA Times columnist Jim Mann suggested in a letter on Thursday that Lee's potentially explosive cross-strait policy was keeping US policy makers awake at night.
"They are afraid of you, President Lee. Washington is truly nervous about what you might try to do during your last month in office," Mann said.
He said US officials are especially concerned that Lee would amend the Constitution to include his "state-to-state" policy on cross-strait relations.
However, Lin Bih-jaw (
"Our position is very clear. It is the three nos: no amendment to the constitution, no legal amendment and no retraction of the statement," Lin said.
Mann rebutted Lee's comment last week that the US and Japan were watching the March election closely because the two countries were worried about the affects of the KMT losing and causing a security problem in East Asia.
"You said the Americans and Japanese are afraid of instability in Asia if anyone else comes to power in Taiwan. But that's not the way it looks in Washington, President Lee," Mann wrote.
He said policymakers and scholars in the US capital were not concerned about the instability that could come with the KMT's fall, but rather, they were more concerned about Lee's erratic tendencies.
"Some are afraid that you might try to touch off a military conflict with China during your last months in office, or that you might even come up with some excuse for putting off the elections and keeping yourself in power as president," Mann said.
Mann, the author of About Face, a book critical of the US-China detente in the late 1970s, also noted there was a wide spectrum of views about Taiwan.
"Even within the Clinton administration officials disagree. Some strongly sympathize with Taiwan, and others don't," Steve Goldstein, a political analyst at Smith College, said.
While Lee is viewed as an unpredictable factor in Washington, US officials understand that direct criticisms of his policies would only make him more defensive.
"You don't want to push his [Lee] buttons," Goldstein said.
Mann urged Lee not to taint his legacy as Taiwan's democratic reformer and allow a "smooth and quiet transfer of power next spring."
"If you do something now that sparks a war with China, that by itself could become your legacy."
He also warned Lee not to count on US support in case of a conflict with China.
"Can you be sure that the Clinton administration will come to Taiwan's defense? Probably not."
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