July 10, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release July 10, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING
BY MIKE MCCURRY
The Briefing Room
1:50 P.M. EDT
................
Q Mike, by a unanimous vote, the Senate today passed
a resolution that many saw as a repudiation of President Clinton's
remarks on Taiwan. Majority Leader Lott said it sends a powerful
signal that the Senate is not accepting President Clinton's new
policy. What's your reaction to that?
MR. MCCURRY: The Majority Leader perhaps has not
followed carefully enough exactly the work the President has done in
this area. I would refer you to a couple of things. First and
foremost, understand that the Majority Leader is wrong when he
discusses a new policy. There is not any new policy; there was
simply a reiteration of a policy that presumably Senator Lott abides
by. I haven't heard him suggest that the policy should change, and
since the President merely reiterated longstanding existing tenets of
U.S. policy on the question of Taiwan, there shouldn't be any
question of where the United States government stands on those
issues.
In fact, the resolution affirms the Taiwan Relations
Act, calls for the peaceful resolution of differences between Taiwan
and the PRC, and also discusses the importance of the very strong and
robust unofficial relationship the United States maintains with
Taiwan, and expresses appreciation for the democratic processes that
have been underway in Taiwan for the last 12 years.
I think it's very important to note that Dr. Richard C.
Bush, who is the board chairman and managing director of the American
Institute in Taiwan, which is the way in which the United States
expresses our concerns and deals with issues related to Taiwan, on
July 8th made a very detailed statement, which we can give to you,
that notes the views of the United States with respect to Taiwan,
notes very importantly that President Li himself has indicated
publicly that the United States abided by its commitments during the
summit, and notes approvingly some of the statements that have been
made by Taiwan authorities, including Foreign Minister Jason Hu.
So the Taiwanese themselves have expressed their
satisfaction with the outcome of the Senate, and my strong suspicion
is that the remarks of Senator Lott are once again an effort by the
Republican leaders to look for the dark lining in the silver cloud.
It's another attempt to try to take what was widely hailed as a
successful trip by the President, politicize the results, and turn it
into something it was not.
In reference to the statements by Taiwanese authorities
themselves, looking at the review that was made of the issue by Dr.
Bush, I think one would conclude that we have very carefully and very
precisely followed longstanding policy that has enjoyed support from
Republicans and Democrats.
Q Mike, the President has always said he thinks there
should be a peaceful resolution of differences. But what's the U.S.
policy on what we would do if China attacked Taiwan?
MR. MCCURRY: The response is directly implied in the
Taiwan Relations Act.
Q Could you explain --
MR. MCCURRY: I won't do it off the cuff, because it's a
precise formula and I don't have it in front of me right now, but we
can get it for you if you need it.
...................
Q Mike, can I just try again? Is there a simple
answer to the question whether we would come to Taiwan's defense if
attacked?
MR. MCCURRY: We've made clear the concern we have over
security in the region. We've made clear through our direct actions,
actions taken by President Clinton, what we are willing to do to
protect the interests that we have in the Asia Pacific, and those of
you who are familiar with what happened in 1995 will recall that
directly. And beyond that, I'm not going to wing an answer on
something that is very precisely stated in the Taiwan Relations Act.
Q Can I ask a follow-up? Does the administration
think Taiwan would thrive if it has the same relationship that Hong
Kong now has with China?
MR. MCCURRY: I think it is certainly accurate to say
that Taiwan thrives today economically and flourishes because of the
extraordinary hard work of the citizens of Taiwan and because they've
made important and real steps towards economic reform and political
reform and have embraced democracy. And since they directly elect
their leaders and have so in free and fair elections for the last 12
years, they have an edge up on countries that have not embraced
democratic principles.
Q So, does the administration in effect see Taiwan
absorbing China rather than China absorbing --
MR. MCCURRY: Policy towards Taiwan is clearly set forth
in the three communiques and in the Taiwan Relations Act.
.......................
Q On Taiwan, when you were talking about the
Taiwanese agreement, is it an oversimplification or is it incorrect
to say that the United States has a longstanding commitment to defend
Taiwan --
MR. MCCURRY: Oh, we very clearly have a longstanding
commitment. It's just -- it is phrased in a way that I can't recall
off the top of my head right now, and I know enough to know that I'd
want to get the precise formulation if I was going to answer the
question directly so that I would not be accused of making new
policy, because there is no change in the policy.
.................
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