The US Department of Defense has revised articles carried by its official news service that made reference to Taiwan after complaints from Taiwanese officials in Washington.
The officials objected to references contained in articles released by the Armed Forces Press Service on Saturday and Sunday about US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' trip to China, where he discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including China's breakneck military expansion and Taiwan.
On Monday, the press service eliminated the offending references from the articles on its Web site and the Pentagon's spokesman for East Asian affairs, Major Stewart Upton, conceded that the original references were "inaccurate."
This was after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had instructed Taiwanese Representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to ask for "clarification" on the articles.
"The first thing in the morning [on Monday], on instructions from Taipei, we [got] in touch with the Pentagon, the State Department and some of the relevant government agencies," Deputy Representative Stanley Kao (
"Very quickly we got the response from the American authorities that the US cross-strait policy remains unchanged," Kao said.
"So, quickly the Pentagon made the correction. We are appreciative of this response, the quick rectification of the US position," he said.
"We will continue to [ensure] that people involved in news releases, without looking into the nuances, the subtlety of this very sensitive cross-strait issue, no longer make any mistakes that cause misunderstanding or uneasiness," Kao said.
"We are satisfied with the corrections. Hopefully, that is the end of the story," he said.
Gates arrived in Beijing on Sunday for two days of talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
In an article on Saturday previewing Gates' trip, press service reporter Jim Garamone described US policy on cross-strait relations as "a sincere desire to see reunification done in a peaceful manner." Garamone also referred to the government's planned referendum on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan" as an "independence referendum."
The next day, another Garamone article said the US was "against independence for the island nation."
Those three references were removed from the articles on Monday. The article released on Sunday carried this editor's note: "This article was modified from the form in which it was originally published to correct our coverage." Saturday's archived article contained no such note.
The revised articles say only that: "The Chinese are concerned about the up-coming referendum in Taiwan which the United States also opposes."
They no longer contain any reference to "independence."
US policy is now described as "a sincere desire to see the Taiwan issue resolved in a peaceful manner." The word "reunification" is not mentioned.
Sunday's article says merely that "The US delegation expects the Chinese to also bring up Taiwan."
Upton said US policy on Taiwan is "consistent and clear."
"The United States remains committed to a peaceful resolution in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the United States opposes unilateral change, by either side, to the `status quo,'" he said.
"The US has an abiding interest that any resolution of the cross-strait situation be peaceful. The United States would view any use of force against Taiwan with grave concern and remains committed to meet its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act," Upton said.
While US officials have long said they "do not support" Taiwan's independence, they have never publicly said they "oppose" or "are against" it.
Meanwhile, Gates declined to say anything about Taiwan during a press conference with Chinese Minister of Defense Cao Gangchuan (曹剛川) after their meeting in Beijing on Monday.
The Pentagon made a transcript available in Washington.
Asked about US views on China's military buildup, including US expectations of a Chinese response if Washington came to Taiwan's defense in a war, Gates spoke mainly about the value of greater military dialogue.
Cao, however, delivered a lengthy warning against the possibility of Taiwan's independence.
"The Chinese government will act in accordance with the `Anti-Secession' Law to take any necessary actions to maintain the unification of the country and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits [sic]," he said.
The "Anti-Secession" Law, passed in 2005, commits Beijing to military action to prevent Taiwan's independence.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told a press conference in Taipei yesterday that the US had clarified the "inaccuracies" contained in its articles.
"The US addressed the three points [of contention] in its articles one by one, saying that they [didn't accurately reflect] the official US position on Taiwan policy," Yeh said.
"We came to understand that US government departments, other than the State Department, are not very familiar with cross-strait issues. We have to enhance communication with them," she said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS