08 August 2002
U.S. One-China Policy Remains Unchanged, Official Says
(NSC spokesman also discusses Iraq, Israelis-Palestinians,
Afghanistan) (1010)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- U.S. policy with respect to China and Taiwan "is
well-known, long-standing, and remains unchanged. We have a one-China
policy and we do not support Taiwan independence," Sean McCormack, the
spokesman for the National Security Council, says.
McCormack made the statement August 7 in response to a reporter's
question at a briefing on U.S. national security policy at the State
Department's Foreign Press Center.
"It's our understanding that the authorities on Taiwan have publicly
emphasized that [Taiwan President] Chen Shui-bian's August 3rd remarks
were not a call for independence," McCormack said, "and we certainly
take those assurances at their face value."
The United States, he said, "calls on all parties to avoid steps which
might threaten cross-strait peace and stability, and urges a
resumption of dialogue between Beijing and Taiwan."
McCormack said President Bush "looks forward to welcoming" China's
President Jiang Zemin to his ranch in Crawford in the fall. "It's an
important relationship that we have with China, and the president
looks forward to seeing President Jiang again, but this time welcoming
him to his home," McCormack said.
Asked whether it would be a state visit or a working visit, McCormack
said "we're in the process of working through what kind of visit it
is. This is something that people in the protocol and political
departments work out. And I'm sure that at an appropriate time we'll
have more to share in terms of the details of the trip."
Asked about U.S. policy toward Iraq and the possibility of military
action against the Saddam Hussein regime, McCormack said:
"It's quite simple. The president of the United States has made no
decisions with respect to military action against Iraq. Our policy
with respect to Iraq of regime change is well known. President Bush is
a patient, focused man. He understands quite clearly the situation
with Iraq. He's looking very closely at all the various implications
and means to effect our goal, which is regime change in Iraq. He has a
number of different levers at his disposal. He has political,
economic, diplomatic and military means to effect that change. But
again, no decisions have been taken in that regard."
On the conflict in the Middle East between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, McCormack said President Bush's goal is "unchanged from
the June 24th speech" he gave in the Rose Garden of the White House.
In that speech, McCormack noted, the President "laid out quite clearly
his vision for a final solution based on the two states living side by
side together in peace and security, that being Israel and Palestine.
And we're continuing to work towards that goal with parties in the
region, with our partners in the quartet.
"We're making progress in this regard. Some of it you'll see. Some of
it will not be so evident."
The Palestinian people, McCormack added, "are true victims of
terrorism because their hopes for a state, for institutions that they
can count on to provide services for them, to help realize their
aspirations for a better life for future generations of Palestinians
have been stymied and blocked by terrorism." The president, he said,
"believes very strongly that the Palestinian people cannot realize
their aspirations for a state should terror ... continue to be used as
a political tool."
President Bush, he said, "laid out what he believes is a path to a
better life for the Palestinian people. And that path lay through the
building of institutions that will serve them, not just one person,"
the National Security spokesman said.
Those institutions, he added, will "be based on transparency and good
government and democratic principles."
"We're making progress in that regard, making progress on the ground
in concrete ways," he said, noting that the Bush administration was
about to welcome a delegation of Palestinian leaders to Washington.
The delegation was to meet with officials at both the State Department
and the National Security Council.
He said U.S. officials will be talking to the Palestinian delegation
"on a number of different issues, including elections, the political
horizon [and] security."
In Afghanistan, McCormack said, the United States is "equally focused
on both the reconstruction, the building of Afghanistan, a better
Afghanistan for the Afghan people, and going after the remaining
elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban, which pose a continuing threat
to a future democratic, free Afghanistan, as well as the rest of the
world.
"And as President Bush said, we will be focused and persistent and
patient in hunting down the Taliban and al Qaeda, and we will be
equally persistent and energetic in helping the people of Afghanistan,
both directly and through the international community, in helping them
rebuild their country after more than 20 years of war, both domestic
as well as from foreign entities."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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