TAIWAN-U.S. RELATIONS MOVING ON AFTER NUC SPAT: ROC DIPLOMAT
ROC Central News Agency
2006-03-02 17:46:19
Washington, March 2 (CNA) The gap between Taiwan and the United States on President Chen Shui-bian's cessation of the National Unification Council (NUC) "has greatly narrowed, " and the latest developments have been positive, David Lee, Taiwan's top envoy to the United States, said Thursday.
Lee made the remarks while fielding reporters' questions at a briefing jointly sponsored by the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council on the prospects of a closer economic partnership between Taiwan and the United States.
The United States understands Taiwan's stance after President Chen used "cease" instead of "abolish" to handle the issue, Lee said, but adding that it is necessary to closely monitor future developments in bilateral Taiwan-U.S. ties at a time when Chinese President Hu Jintao is slated to visit the United States in April.
According to Lee, Taiwan-U.S. relations have developed in a positive direction and are continuously moving on, following ripples arising from the NUC issue last month. Taiwan has a keen interest in signing a free trade agreement with the United States, and some members of U. S. Congress have introduced a resolution backing the proposal, he added.
Brushing off speculation that he is considering leaving the post, Lee said that he still has much to do as "war is still raging, " and that he needs to act more cautiously and more professionally to tackle future challenges.
(By Winnie Chi and Flor Wang)
ENDITEM/diG
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
