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BEIJING LAW COUNTER TO TERMS OF TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT: V.P. LU

ROC Central News Agency

2005-03-13 16:38:45

    Houston, Texas, March 12 (CNA) Visiting Republic of China Vice President Annette Lu said Sunday that Beijing's draft "anti-secession" law targeting Taiwan runs counter to U.S.-China diplomatic ties mandating that China should resolve the Taiwan issue in a peaceful manner.

    Lu, who arrived in Houston Saturday night for a three-day transit stay en route to El Salvador for a state visit, said during her flight to Houston that if the "anti-secession" law were indeed passed and allows the People's Liberation Army to use "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan, the law would seriously contradict the principles of the "Taiwan Relations Act" -- a U.S. law passed after Washington established formal diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979 with an important condition that China will resolve the cross-strait issue peacefully.

    Vice President Lu departed Taipei Saturday (Taipei time) for an official visit to El Salvador and Guatemala -- two diplomatic allies of the ROC in Central America. She is also scheduled to make transit stops in Houston and Miami during her 12-day trip.

    Lu said Beijing's "anti-secession" law is not just a problem for Taiwan, it is a problematic concern for the whole world, particularly the United States.

    The vice president added that before departing Taipei, she has exchanged views with President Chen Shui-bian several times over Beijing's enactment of the law. She said she does not need to convey the words of the president to the United States regarding the law since the president maintains "very smooth" channels of communication with America.

    Lu was accorded a reception befitted a visitor of her status upon her arrival in Houston, with William Brown, acting chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , and David Lee, Taiwan's top liaison officer in the United States, going aboard Lu's charter flight to welcome her.

    The vice president is scheduled to greet Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Congressman Solomon Ortiz from the state of Texas Sunday morning via telephone.

    Lu is scheduled to eat at a Houston steakhouse that President Chen visited in June 2001 Sunday noon and meet with a group of pro-Taiwan lawmakers in Texas.

    In the evening, Lu is scheduled to deliver a speech on the implications of Beijing's enactment of the "anti-secession" law at a dinner with some 300 overseas Taiwanese who will come from around the state of Texas.

    Lu is scheduled to visit the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters Monday morning, making her the first ROC vice president to tour an official U.S. organization such as NASA during a transit stop.

    Lu, at the head of a 152-member delegation, said prior to her departure at CKS International Airport that the visit is aimed at cementing diplomatic ties and introducing Taiwan's industries to its allies.

    The delegation, which in addition to government officials, includes executives of state-owned and private enterprises, the vice president said, hopes to introduce Taiwan's traditional and high-tech industries to its allies and further increase trade exchanges.

    According to the delegation's itinerary, Lu will inspect the possibility of establishing a "Taiwan Park" for industries in El Salvador, in the hopes that the park's construction can be completed and its operations begun within the remaining three years of President Chen's term.

    Lu will also attend a regional meeting of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) in America in Guatemala. Six Central American allies and five non-allied countries in North, Central and South America will attend the meeting, Lu said, adding that this will be a warm-up to a DPU regional organization to be established in Taipei August 14.

    During the 12-day visit, the vice president will call on Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca and Vice President Ana Vilma De Escobar and Guatemalan President Oscar Berger.

    She will also be decorated by the two governments and will deliver speeches to the parliaments of both countries.

(By Yang Chia-hui and Deborah Kuo)

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