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TAIWAN OFFICIAL IN U.S. TO GAIN UNDERSTANDING OF BUSH-WEN MEETING

2003-12-13 13:25:11

    Washington, Dec. 12 (CNA) A senior Taiwan security official is currently in Washington, D.C. to gain a first-hand understanding of the details of the recent meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and mainland Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, sources said Friday.

    Ko Cheng-heng, a deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, arrived in the U.S. capital a day after the Bush-Wen meeting at the White House on Tuesday.

    According to the sources, Ko's visit was scheduled before the Bush-Wen meeting and is not directly related to Bush's recent criticism of Taiwan's leader.

    Bush said at a news conference following his talks with Wen that he opposes "comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan" that indicate that President Chen Shui-bian "may be willing to make decisions unilaterally, to change the status quo."

    Despite the U.S. concern that Taiwan's planned "defensive referendum" might disrupt the delicate status quo in cross-Taiwan Strait relations, President Chen has reaffirmed his determination to go ahead with the plan to hold a "defensive referendum" on the day of the next presidential election on March 20, 2004 that would allow the people of Taiwan to voice their opposition to Beijing's military threat to their country.

    In addition to collecting information about the details of the Bush-Wen talks, Ko is also expected to further explain Taipei's stance on the "defensive referendum" issue to relevant U.S. authorities during his visit, the sources said.

(By Jay Chen and Sofia Wu)

ENDITEM/Li