The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday refused to comment on the possibility of chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen's (
Council Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (
Tsai, who returned to work yesterday after taking time off to travel with her parents to Japan, told reporters from Chinese-language newspapers late Thursday that she had no intention of staying in the civil service after the presidential inauguration on May 20.
Though she is apparently being urged by senior Presidential Office officials to take the job as head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, Tsai declined to say whether her intention to leave government service would change if President Chen Shui-bian (
Tsai held a series of meetings with council officials yesterday but was not available for comment.
It is believed that Tsai's wish to stay close to her elderly parents is among the reasons that she may not wish to accept the diplomatic post.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chang (
Paal, who participated in some of Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen's (
Chiou's US trip was primarily aimed at allaying Washington's concerns about Chen Shui-bian's constitutional reform agenda. Chiou returned to Taipei Thursday morning.
According to John Tkacik, a research fellow at the Washington-based think tank the Heritage Foundation, officials familiar with Chiou's visit to Washington said that officials there were "to a certain degree" satisfied with the message that Chiou communicated to them.
But Chang, who once served as foreign affairs minister, said the timing of Paal's return to Taipei would show whether the US was happy with Chiou's explanation of Chen Shui-bian's policies.
"Paal was in the US to arrange his father's funeral. He was supposed to come back to Taiwan as soon as the funeral was over," Chang said.
Former top representative to the US Stephen Chen (
If Paal returns to Taiwan before Chen Shui-bian's inauguration ceremony on May 20, the US can be viewed as being satisfied with what Chiou told Washington about the president's policies, Chang said.
If Paal does not attend the inauguration, Taipei would have reason to worry about Taiwan-US relations, according to Chang.
"An examination of current Taiwan-US ties tells us that Washington might try to send a message to Taipei through the timing of Paal's return," Chang said.
Chang said the US might signal to Taipei that its concerns about Taiwan have deepened, despite Chiou's visit, by instructing institute deputy director David Keegan to attend the May 20 ceremony in place of Paal.
Chang also said that whether or not the US sends senior officials to attend the inauguration could indicate to what degree Taiwan-US relations were repaired by Chiou's visit.
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