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WASHINGTON WELCOMES PRESIDENT CHEN'S COMMITMENT TO STATUS QUO

2004-01-17 18:27:20

    Washington, Jan. 16 (CNA) Washington welcomes Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian's commitment to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday.

    Fielding questions raised by reporters regarding the two questions announced Friday by Chen for the "referendum for peace" to be held March 20, McClellan said: "We certainly welcome anything that confirms Taiwan's commitment to the status quo now and in the years ahead."

    In a pre-taped TV broadcast to the nation, Chen said that he will ask the people of Taiwan to decide in the referendum whether the country should further strengthen its self-defense capabilities and whether it should hold talks with Beijing to work out a "peace and stability" framework for cross-strait interactions.

    In the five-minute broadcast, Chen also said that he will not back down from his promise in his 2000 inauguration speech to not attempt to change the status quo and that he will continue to strive to the fullest to maintain the status quo if he wins a second presidential term.

    McClellan said that President George W. Bush is a supporter of Taiwan's democracy and the one-China policy as a means of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The United States opposes unilateral steps by either Beijing or Taipei to change the status quo, he quoted Bush as saying.

    Asked if Washington is against the planned referendum, McClellan said that "we are not opposed to referenda, but nor will we endorse any specific referendum."

    However, he said, there would be no relationship between the outcome of the proposed referendum and Taiwan's commitment to the status quo.

    Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the U.S. government has noted that Chen did commit himself in his speech to not changing the status quo and to pursuing dialogue with Beijing. "Those are both things we have supported in the past, " he affirmed.

(By Jorge Liu, Jay Chen and Huang Kwang-chun)

ENDITEM/Li