In a sharp break with the practice of previous administrations, the George W. Bush administration has lent its support to planned meetings between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and US congressmen when Chen stops off in New York next week en route to Latin America.
"We believe that private meetings between members of Con-gress and foreign leaders advance our national interests. So he may have meetings with members of Congress," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters Monday.
Meanwhile, China said yesterday it strongly opposed Chen's visit and criticized Washington for granting him a visa.
"China strongly opposes any country, including of course the United States, allowing permission for Chen Shui-bian to visit under any name or style of visit," foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi (
Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview with CNN that "[Chen] will be [allowed to stop in the US] and there's no reason he shouldn't.
"We will try to reassure the authorities in Beijing that there is nothing in the president's transit that they should find disturbing or in any way modifying or changing or casting any doubt on the policy that exists between us and the People's Republic of China."
Boucher confirmed earlier reports that the department on Friday granted Chen a transit permit to stay in New York May 21 through May 23, where he is expected to see many sights, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Stock Exchange.
Reports circulating on Capitol Hill say several representatives and senators are expected to travel to New York next Tuesday for meetings.
The House group is planning to have a luncheon with Chen, while the senators plan to meet with him individually.
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said that he would "be delighted" to meet Chen, and Monday, California Congressman Dana Rohrbacher, a friend of Chen, said he would also make the trip.
Others who may make the trip include Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli.
While many congressmen are known to want to meet Chen, Congress will be in session next Tuesday, with important votes planned, and many will have to miss the meetings, congressional sources noted.
The meetings will be a sharp contrast to last August when Chen last stopped off in the US -- in Los Angeles -- in transit. At that time, Washington barred him from meeting congressmen, although Rohrbacher defied the ban, interrupting a dinner at the hotel Chen was staying to meet him in the hallway.
After leaving New York to visit El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Paraguay and Honduras, Chen will return to the US to transit in Houston June 2 and June 3, where he is planning to meet with House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas and see the Houston Astros.
In his stopovers, his transit permits allow only "private and unofficial" activities -- excluding media events -- the State Department's Boucher said.
However, he said, "we believe that meetings between members of Congress and foreign leaders are a good thing, and that applies around the world.
"Consistent with that policy, we would think that meetings between members of Congress and this foreign leader would be a good thing -- [there is] no reason to make a particular exception," he said.
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