US Deputy Secretary of State designate Richard Armitage said Wednesday that the Bush administration does not see Taiwan as a problem in its relationship with China, but as an opportunity.
"Things have changed. We have a democracy, not a martial-law state, in Taiwan," Armitage said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He noted that this represents "an opportunity for the West to show that democracy counts for something."
It is also "an opportunity for China to show that it has a willingness and fortitude" to resolve cross-strait differences in a peaceful way, he said.
Armitage pointed out that the Bush administration will "adhere to the one-China policy, which is an acknowledgment that people on both sides of the Strait think there is one China and Taiwan is part of China."
"What has changed is that any eventual agreement has to be acceptable to the majority of the people of Taiwan," he said.
Answering questions about US relations with Beijing, Armitage said that a priority for the new administration is "to make sure that China understands what we're saying when we say it."
In the past, Republican administrations "had quite a good relationship with China," he said, pointing out that although Beijing did not always like what US officials said to them, they at least "respected us for being up-front with them about what our views were."
A graduate of the US Naval Academy and a decorated Vietnam veteran, Armitage served in both the Reagan and the George Bush administrations.
He is expected to be confirmed as the No. 2 official at the State Department next week.
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