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WHITE HOUSE WELCOMES CHEN'S COMMITMENT TO CROSS-STRAIT PEACE

ROC Central News Agency

2006-02-28 11:41:32

    Washington, Feb. 27 (CNA) The White House welcomed President Chen Shui-bian's reaffirmation Monday of his administration's commitment to cross-strait peace and stability and to the pledges he made in his inaugural address not to unilaterally alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

    White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States continues to stress the need for Beijing to open a meaningful dialogue with the duly elected leadership in Taiwan for the peaceful resolution of their differences.

    In reply to a reporter's question about Chen's earlier announcement to scrap the National Unification Council (NUC) , the spokesman emphasized that "our policy is clear and consistent when it comes to cross-strait relations. Our one-China policy remains based on the three communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act and our belief that there should be no unilateral change in the status quo by either side."

    Responding to a reporter's observation that U.S. President George W. Bush "was upset about Chen Shui-bian's plan to try to unilaterally change the status quo, " McClellan said: "That's why I talked about the reaffirmation that he has made. It did not abolish the National Unification Council. Today he reaffirmed commitments made during the 2000 and 2004 inaugural addresses, and the United States attaches great importance to those commitments."

    A journalist asked him: "Chen Shui-bian has been trying to push the envelope and to change the status quo defined by the U.S. government over the past few years, causing a lot of concerns and attention in Taipei, Beijing and Washington. So my question is, should the U.S. national security and foreign policy, and also the important U.S.- China relations be challenged by Chen's inconsistency and by his personal selfish political agenda?"

    To that, McClellan replied, "Again, I don't think it changes what I just said. We do not believe that there should be any unilateral change in the status quo by either side. And our policy remains the same."

(By Jorge Liu and S.C. Chang)

ENDITEM/Li