A long-awaited trip to Taiwan by Stanley Roth underscores the unfairness inherent in US policy toward Taiwan, analysts said yesterday, because he was barred from visiting here during his tenure as a high-ranking US official.
Roth was US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the Clinton administration.
"His visit to Taiwan [only after leaving the US Department of State] highlights the unreasonable aspect of US policy toward Taiwan. That is, although he visited Taiwan before he was sworn in, he was unable to visit the island as an incumbent official," said Joseph Wu (
Roth is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan tomorrow and to leave on Sunday. He is to attend a seminar on Asia-Pacific regional issues co-sponsored by the US think tank Intellibridge and the China Development Industrial Bank. The seminar begins tomorrow evening at the Hyatt Hotel and lasts until Friday evening.
Invited by the Institute for National Policy Research, Roth is scheduled to deliver a speech on Saturday morning at the Sherwood Taipei, although the topic of his address was yet to be confirmed, a think tank spokesperson said.
During his visit Roth is also expected to meet with scholars and officials in charge of foreign affairs as well as national security affairs.
Roth would be the first Clinton administration official to visit since the transition of the US presidency took place on Jan. 20.
The last time Roth visited Taiwan was before he was sworn in as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs on Aug. 5, 1997. Roth then gave a presentation to members of the Institute of International Relations (IIR) at National Chengchi University during which some of his "unfriendly" remarks toward Taiwan worried some participants.
Roth has remained a controversial figure to some Taiwanese officials and scholars who viewed the former state department official as "relatively friendly to China and critical of Taiwan."
A remark he made on March 24, 1999, urging Beijing and Taipei to sign what he termed an "interim agreement," was viewed by some observers in Taiwan as an unfriendly gesture toward the island.
But Wu stressed that now that Roth has left the US administration, his visit to Taiwan this week might offer him opportunities to update himself on cross-strait relations and Taiwan's domestic development.
"He now has the opportunity to join more think tanks and to speak further on cross-strait issues. It'll offer him an opportunity to gain different perspectives on the development of US policy. Perhaps during this, his third visit, he will hear the real voice of Taiwan and garner new understanding of the overall situation," Wu said.
Intellibridge, headed by former White House national security advisor Anthony Lake, focuses on collecting and analyzing current global political and economic information and sponsors various seminars around the world.
So far, the only Taiwanese appointed to Intellibridge's advisory council is Benny Hu (
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