Taipei approves of
Bush China visit

By Jon Dougherty

Taiwan’s government has said it approves of President Bush’s visit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, noting that Washington and Beijing “remained far apart” on issues important to Taipei.

“President Bush’s remarks so far have not sacrificed the interests of Taiwan,” said Eugene Chien, Taiwan’s foreign affairs minister. “Although both reached a consensus on certain issues, they remained far apart on other issues, including the issue of Taiwan.”

His comments, as well as those of other Taiwanese government officials, were carried by various Taiwan newspapers, including the Taipei Times.

Bush flew home yesterday following a six-day Asian tour that included visits to South Korea, Japan and China.

In a joint press conference following meetings with the Chinese leader, Bush and Jiang both hoped for a peaceful resolution to the cross-strait tension that has marked Taiwan-China relations for years.

“We believe in the peaceful settlement of this issue,” Bush said.

But overall, Taiwanese leaders said Bush remained committed to the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, which contains a U.S. pledge of military support to Taiwan should it fall under attack, as well as a commitment to supply Taiwan with up-to-date military technology.

“The United States will continue to support the Taiwan Relations Act,” Bush added. “All the world’s people, including the people of China, should be free to choose how to live, worship and how to work.”

Taiwanese officials said they understood Washington’s need to improve relations with Beijing, as long as relations with Taipei didn’t suffer.

“While relations between the U.S. and China are expected to get better, it’s also our hope that U.S.-Taiwan relations can advance in parallel,” Chien said.

Jon Dougherty

Jon E. Dougherty is a Missouri-based political science major, author, writer and columnist. Follow him on Twitter. Read more of Jon Dougherty's articles here.