TAIWAN CAN TAKE PART IN SUBCONTRACTING FOR IRAQI RECONSTRUCTION
2003-12-15 19:57:28
Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Taiwan has not been included on a 63-nation list unveiled by the United States that will be allowed to take part in Iraq's reconstruction, but it will be allowed to take part in subcontracting work, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien said Monday.
Chien made the remarks while fielding questions in the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Legislative Yuan.
Hsiao Bi-khim of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) asked why Taiwan, a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war on Iraq in March, was not included on the list, while Taiwan's ally Costa Rica is on the list.
Chien said the ministry contacted the nation's representative office in the United States upon learning about the list, and the representative office then contacted the U.S. Defense Department.
The U.S. told the representative office that all 63 countries on the list had joined the U.S. coalition or supported the U.S.-led action in Iraq, while countries like Nicaragua and Honduras also sent peacekeeping forces to Iraq.
According to Chien, although Taiwan is providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq, it is directed toward refugees and the country has not sent troops to take part in the peacekeeping, hygiene or construction works, which is why Taiwan is not on the list.
But Chien said the U.S. stressed that the list is only for major contractors and there will be no problem for Taiwan taking part in subcontracting work.
However, Hsiao noted that Taiwan strongly supported the U.S.-led military operations in Iraq and that the legislative committee had hoped that Taiwan could take part in post-war reconstruction. It is hard to accept that Taiwan has been shut out of Iraq's long-term reconstruction work, a move which also "falls far short of the expectations of the committee," Hsiao said.
She said that the Foreign Ministry should work toward soliciting the right to take part in Iraq's reconstruction and should not allow mainland China to use the referendum issue to mislead the United States and undermine Taiwan's cooperation with the United States.
Legislator Parris Chang of the DPP also said that Taiwan has repeatedly told the United States that its holding of a "defensive referendum" in March to coincide with the presidential election is not an attempt to change the status quo, and he asked why the United States is still "refusing to listen."
Hsiao said that U.S. President George W. Bush's warning on Taiwan's referendum plan shows a different perception of the issue than Taiwan's and asked if this is a communication problem and the result of sending the wrong messages.
Chien said that Taiwan sees referendum as a move toward strengthening its democracy, while the United States is focusing on regional security and stability, which is two different stances. The referendum idea is also a new issue that needs "more communication and understanding," said Chien.
The foreign minister said that after Bush's warning, Taiwan has conveyed to the United States via various channels that President Chen Shui-bian has no intention of changing the cross-Taiwan Strait status quo, is not planning to hold a referendum on reunification or independence, and does not want to affect the peace in the Taiwan Strait.
The United States, said Chien, is basically taking a "parallel approach toward handling cross-strait relations, " which he said is not a zero-sum game. Friendly relations between Washington and Beijing do not mean a regression of relations between Taiwan and the United States, he added.
(By Lilian Wu)
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