Contrary to the earlier impression that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) trip to Washington last week scored successes with the US government, US officials were not pleased with Ma's proposals or performance, a group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said on Thursday.
Members of the group said that US officials they met on Wednesday told them they thought Ma's proposals for closer ties with Beijing were impractical, and chastised him for hurting Taiwan's security by standing in the way of the purchase of a package of weapons from the US.
"Apparently, [US officials] are not happy with Ma Ying-jeou," the head of the legislative delegation, DPP Legislator Charles Chiang (江昭儀), told the Taipei Times.
PHOTO: NADIA TSAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The DPP legislators also said US officials were pleased with the performance of Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Washington, David Lee (李大維), despite calls in Taiwan for his removal.
The legislative group spoke with the Taiwan press corp in Washington near the end of a three-day trip during which they met US government officials, members of Congress, think tanks and others, to discuss the situation in Taiwan and US-Taiwan relations.
During this week's visit, the group met National Security Council (NSC) China expert Dennis Wilder and other NSC officials. One Pentagon official also attended. On Thursday, the group was scheduled to meet with State Department officials.
In addition, they met individually with a half-dozen congressmen and at a lunch with members of the Taiwanese Congressional Caucus.
It was reported that Wilder and a state department official, negotiated the final wording of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) announcement mothballing the National Unification Council and guidelines, diffusing a potentially explosive situation earlier this month.
Members of the DPP delegation say US officials consider the episode "over," indicating that US relations with Chen and his government have returned to an equilibrium.
The US officials felt that Ma's cross-strait proposals, "even though they sounded very good, and could reduce the tensions between Taiwan and the PRC [People's Republic of China], Taiwan's people could not accept them and they're not practical," Chiang told the Taipei Times.
DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said US officials "don't accept such a framework" as Ma proposed.
He said the officials believed that China "should talk with the present Taiwan government," rather than wait for any KMT victory in the 2008 presidential election.
"The US officials said they do not believe that the PRC would accept Ma Ying-jeou's proposal because the PRC has said again and again that the PRC is the legitimate government of China, and that Taiwan is part of China," DPP Legislator You Ching (尤清) said.
US officials also denied to the DPP delegation reports that Ma received special attention from the US government as a sign of their unhappiness with Chen.
Congressmen expressed concern over the timing of Ma's visit, which came when Congress was out for a week-long recess, preventing them from meeting with him.
The US lawmakers accused Ma of doing that on purpose because "Congress would be more vocal" in opposing him, Chiang said.
As for Washington's relations with Chen, Lai said the US side rejected Ma's portrait of Chen.
"Ma said the United States was very angry with Chen in terms of the NUC. But that is not true, because for the United States, the NUC issue is over," Lai said.
"The United States knows very well what Chen Shui-bian has done. They have very good communication. Regarding the NUC, the puzzle for the United States is how it happened. However, after communications, it is not a problem any more. That's why the United States said the problem is over. So, what Ma said is untrue," Lai said.
The US is unhappy about Ma's and the KMT's action on US arms sales, a delegation member said.
"The US officials said we should defend our national security," You said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
RSS