The man tapped to be the new US deputy secretary of state, Robert Zoellick has slammed China's planned anti-secession law, saying that it move in the "other direction" of US goals for a peaceful settlement of cross-strait issues.
Zoellick made his comment in response to a question by a senator during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee evaluating his nomination by President George W. Bush to be the next No. 2 official at the State Department.
It was the strongest statement in opposition to the anti-secession law that any senior US official has made since Beijing announced plans to enact the law last December.
Other US officials, while expressing various degrees of dissatisfaction with the planned law, have refused to expressly oppose it, saying they had not yet seen the text of the law and thus could not comment officially.
Zoellick's remarks are believed to be the first by any senior US official to condemn the planned law in certain terms.
"Our goal is for the parties to work out [cross-strait relations] peacefully, in an acceptable way to people on both sides of the Strait," Zoellick said in response to a question by Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican.
"And in that sense, we encourage a dialogue and we certainly discourage actions [which] move in the other direction, with the anti-secession law," he said.
Zoellick, who is now the US trade representative, also praised the recent agreement between Taipei and Beijing on Lunar New Year's cross-strait flights.
"There have been some steps between China and Taiwan recently in terms of transportation links and others that I hope will move in a positive direction," he said.
He added that Washington remains committed to a "one China" policy and the three joint US-China communiques, "and the president is committed to the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act."
Asked about Zoellick's statements, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the anti-secession law did not come up when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
However, Boucher said, Washington "has been quite clear that we don't think either side should take unilateral steps that try to define the situation further or push it in one direction or another."
He added that since the law was first discussed by Beijing, both former secretary of state Colin Powell and the US embassy in Beijing had raised the issue.
"The Chinese know quite clearly what our views are," he said.
While Zoellick is expected to win easy confirmation by the Senate as the next deputy secretary of state to replace Richard Armitage, who has retired, the fate of other positions of interest to East Asia is still up in the air.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific James Kelly retired at the end of last month and no replacement has been named.
Chris Hill, the ambassador to South Korea, was widely expected to replace Kelly, but Boucher on Monday announced only that Hill would sit in for Kelly as the head of the US delegation to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
Hill will also continue in the South Korea post, the spokesman said.
Kelly's temporary replacement is Evans Revere, who had been Kelly's principle deputy.
Other senior State Department officials, including John Bolton, the under-secretary for arms control and international security, and one of Taiwan's most prominent supporters in the administration, remains in his post despite rumors that he would quit to join the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney.
Earlier reports said that Rice had passed him over for the deputy secretary slot that eventually went to Zoellick.
Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Randall Schriver, whose responsibilities include relations with China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, remains in place with no indication when he might retire, as earlier speculated.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS