US and Taiwanese officials in Washington have moved to allay concerns sparked by a comment by a senior US official in Bangkok over the weekend about commitments made by US President George W. Bush in his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Hu told reporters that Bush had stated his "opposition" to Taiwan's independence.
Asked about that statement, the unnamed US official, who held a background press briefing on the meeting, said that Bush, among other things, had said that the US "[doesn't] support Taiwan moving toward independence."
Pressed by a reporter, the official said that the statement was "correct."
Pressed again about whether Bush was misquoted by Hu as "opposing" independence, the US official said. "I'm not going to get into a semantic game here -- does he not support, does he oppose, is it only moves toward independence," he said.
"The president reiterated our `one China' policy, noting that it has not changed," the official said.
The official also reiterated an earlier statement by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that "we don't want either party changing the status quo unilaterally in the Strait in a way that would upset peace and stability in the Strait. And I think we're trying to make that clear."
In the past, the administration has said only that it does not support Taiwan's independence.
The addition of the words "moving toward" appeared to be a new formula.
That is not so, US officials say.
"There has been no change in the US policy," a State Department spokesman said.
"America's `one China' policy has not changed," he said, on condition of anonymity.
"That was the position before going in [to the Hu meeting] and that was the position coming out," he said.
"The president said there was no change in US position," the spokesman said. "So there is no change."
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