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U.S. REPEATS SUPPORT FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CROSS-STRAIT DISPUTES

ROC Central News Agency

2006-02-08 11:46:31

    Washington, Feb. 7 (CNA) U.S. State Department officials reiterated Tuesday Washington's support for apeaceful resolution of cross-Taiwan Strait disputes in a way that is acceptable to people on both sides of the strait.

    The officials were responding to remarks made by ROC President Chen Shui-bian Tuesday that only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide the fate of the country and that the sovereignty of Taiwan belongs to the Taiwan people and cannot be shared with the 1.3 billion people of China.

    Christopher R. Hill, assistant secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the United States' policy on cross-strait issues is clear and has been stated on a number of occasions. "We want these issues resolved by peaceful means. Within this context, our policy, which has been stated over and over again, is our commitment to the one-China policy, our commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the three communiques," Hill told reporters after a House of Representatives hearing.

    Also commenting on Chen's remarks during a regular press briefing, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Washington's stance on these issues remains unchanged, noting that the department last reiterated this in public with a statement by his deputy J. Adam Ereli last week. "We have made no changes to our long-standing policy aimed at promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region. The United States does not support Taiwan independence and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo by either Taiwan or Beijing, " McCormack said. "We support dialogue in the interest of achieving a peaceful resolution of cross-strait differences in a manner that is acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," he added.

    Ereli stated the policy on Jan. 30 in the wake of President Chen's proposals that Taiwan should seriously consider scrapping the National Unification Council and the National Unification Guidelines and seeking to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan. Chen also proposed drafting a new constitution by the end of this year to be put forth for a referendum in 2007.

    Ereli called Chen's speech "a surprise" and claimed that Taiwan's participation in the U.N. under the name of Taiwan would represent a "unilateral change to the status quo."

    In his inaugural speeches of 2000 and 2004, Chen pledged that if China has no intention to use force against Taiwan, the country will not declare independence, will not change the official name of the country, will not include the "state-to-state" concept on cross-strait relations in the Constitution, will not promote a referendum to change the cross-strait status quo, and will not abolish the National Unification Guidelines and the National Unification Council.

(By Oliver Lin and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/Li