The US Department of State, widely criticized in Washington for its furious reaction to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) plan to hold a referendum on Taiwan's membership bid at the UN under the name "Taiwan," has modified its position.
In a statement issued on Friday, the department added praise for Taiwan's democracy to its earlier blanket condemnation of the referendum plan and said it was not opposed to referenda in Taiwan.
The statement was in answer to a question asked at department spokesman Sean McCormack's daily press briefing on Friday and was issued several hours later the same day. Nevertheless, despite its less strident stance, the department reiterated its opposition to the UN referendum.
"The United States is not opposed to referenda in principle," the department said, in the latest iteration of its position on Chen's statement last Sunday in which he said that he plans to go ahead with a poll on Taiwan's UN membership in connection with next year's presidential election.
"We appreciate and strongly support Taiwan's democratic development," the statement said.
However, in a reiteration of comments made earlier in the week, the statement said: "The United States opposes any initiative that appears designed to change Taiwan's status unilaterally. This would include a referendum on whether to apply to the United Nations under the name `Taiwan.'"
The latest version of the department's policy on the referendum did not include the department's earlier demand that Chen "reject" the referendum and did not repeat earlier warnings that the referendum would exacerbate cross-strait tensions.
Nor did it repeat the demand that Chen exercise "leadership," a personal slap at Chen, or criticize the referendum idea as running counter to Chen's commitments to US President George W. Bush and the international community.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the department said that senior US and Chinese officials discussed Taiwan during a US-China senior dialogue held on Wednesday and Thursday, but offered scant details.
The issue came up as Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo (戴秉國) in Washington.
"From our standpoint, the secretary reiterated our position regarding Taiwan and the `one China' policy, the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act," McCormack said at the briefing.
The department later expanded on that point, saying: "The importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was among the issues discussed by Negroponte and Dai. The Chinese raised concerns about various issues relating to Taiwan, and we reiterated our long standing positions."
The dialogue, which covered a range of issues confronting US-China relations, was the fourth in a series. The fifth round will be held in China before the end of the year.
ALSO SEE STORY:
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers