CEP0009 [07/15/99 16:18:42] DD5K7111.
CEP-->LILIAN
07-15-99
ROC MAY SEND ENVOY TO US TO CLARIFY ITS MAINLAND POLICY
Taipei, July 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said
on Thursday that it may send a special envoy to the United States to
explain President Lee Teng-hui's latest statement on cross-strait
relations.
MOFA made the announcement after Beijing reacted strongly to
President Lee's redefinition of the relations between the two sides
of the Taiwan Strait as a "special state-to-state relationship."
Local media reports said that Su Chi, chairman of the
Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, did not indicate during a
recent US visit that the Republic of China would renounce its stance
on "one China" or present a "two states in one nation" policy.
President Lee's statement has therefore taken the US side "by
surprise."
As the "two states in one nation" notion has generated heated
debate, MOFA has mapped out a substantive plan to step up
communications with the United States so that the ROC's stance will
be more clearly understood.
MOFA officials said that "everything that can be done will be
done."
They said that in addition to the existing communications channel
-- the ROC Representative Office in the United States -- an envoy may
be sent to the United States to explain that the ROC's mainland
policy has not undergone a major change so that the definition of
cross-strait relations will not be misunderstood, twisted or
distorted.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Jason Hu said in the legislature that
Darryl N. Johnson, the outgoing director of Taipei office of the
American Institute in Taiwan, in a meeting with President Lee on
Wednesday was assured that the ROC's mainland policy remains
unchanged.
Responding to criticism that Lee's remarks were badly timed, Hu
said that this is no time to discuss whether the timing is right, and
that it is time to tell mainland China in a rational manner that
Lee's statement reflects political and historical fact and the
aspirations of people in Taiwan.
Hu said that the ROC's basic stance -- that the two sides can be
united under the principles of freedom, democracy and the equal
distribution of wealth -- is unchanged.
He said that the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council will not
rule out the possibility of a "German formula" and that it will have
to see if both sides have the goodwill to build up mutual trust.
(By Lilian Wu)
ENDITEM
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