The passage of the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA) by the US House of Representatives earlier this week has continued to draw heat in Washington, with the White House reaffirming its opposition to the bill on Friday.
US President Bill Clinton restated his opposition to the legislation that, if made law, would mandate closer military cooperation between the US and Taiwan.
It has also drawn an angry response from China.
"They [the Chinese] don't like it, but I don't support that bill either, and I don't think it's in Taiwan's best interests," Clinton said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.
White House officials have vowed that the president would veto the TSEA, saying the bill would overturn current US policy towards Taiwan.
Clinton said policy toward Taiwan would remain rooted in the existing Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which allows for limited defensive weapons sales and military exchanges.
"To keep it within that framework [of the TRA], it seems to me, allows the Chinese to manage it, and I think passing a big, new sweeping bill like this is not well-advised and will complicate our long-term task and may well have the boomerang effect of putting Taiwan under a greater pressure," he said.
"We have a `one-China' policy, but we believe that the resolution of the dispute between Taiwan and China ought to be done by peaceful means and through dialogue, and that our defense assistance to Taiwan will be governed by the Taiwan Relations Act," Clinton said.
However, proponents of the TSEA argue that new legislation is needed because the existing bill has not taken account of Taiwan's defense capability within the framework of a Chinese military build-up.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Feb. 1 by a vote of 341 to 70.
China has expressed its "utmost indignation" and "firm opposition" to the new legislation calling it a violation of its sovereignty and flagrant interference in its internal affairs.
Meanwhile, in a CNN Internet-based "quick vote" on whether the US should expand military ties with Taiwan - despite Beijing's angry response and strong opposition by the Clinton administration more than 60 percent of Americans voted in favor.
Of the 2,674 responses registered by noon on Thursday, 1,705 participants (or 64 percent) answered in favor while 969 (36 percent) were against expanding military ties with Taiwan.
However, the poll was not conducted scientifically and there is no mechanism to prevent multiple voting.
The CNN survey contrasts with that conducted by the Luce Foundation in October.
In a sample pool of 1,200 Americans, only 26 percent answered in favor of the proposal that "We should continue to help Taiwan to defend itself against possible attack from the mainland, including arms sales to Taiwan, even if this hurts our relations with China."
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