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U.S. SPOKESMAN HAS NO COMMENT ON ROC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES' REMARKS

2003-12-23 14:56:04

    Washington, Dec. 22(CNA) U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher refused to comment Monday on statements made over the weekend by Taiwan presidential candidates regarding cross-strait relations but reiterated that Washington hopes to see peaceful dialogue between the two sides of the strait.

    Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan, the opposition "pan-blue alliance" candidate for the presidential election set for March 20, 2004, on Saturday endorsed President Chen Shui-bian's view of "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait."

    Taiwan media reported that Lien stated at a rally that the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are sovereign and independent countries and that therefore, "in this context, there is no problem with 'one country on each side of the strait.'"

    Meanwhile, on Sunday, President Chen voiced a new interpretation of the cross-strait situation, saying that there are three countries -- namely the ROC, the PRC and Mongolia -- on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

    In response to questions raised at a daily briefing regarding the recent comments by Chen and Lien, Boucher said the United States' position of adhering to the one-China policy, the three communiques, and the Taiwan Relations Act is very well known.

    Indicating that U.S. President Bush has been quite clear regarding Washington's one-China policy, the spokesman said: "We have always opposed any unilateral moves by either side to try to resolve the situation and have tried to make clear that we think that peaceful dialogue is necessary and that the parties should be taking steps in that direction."

(By Jay Chen and P.C. Tang)

Enditem/Li