MOFA CHIEF "UNAMBIGUOUSLY" STATES GOV'T POSITION ON NUC
ROC Central News Agency
2006-03-04 20:52:41
Taipei, March 4 (CNA) Minister of Foreign Affairs Huang Chih-fang stated "unambiguously" Saturday that the Taiwanese government's stand on the National Unification Council and the National Guidelines have been "consistent" and "unchanging." "I will state unambiguously here that our stand has been made very clear on the President's decision in the national security meeting on Feb. 27. Our stand has been consistent and unchanging: the National Unification Council has ceased to function, and the National Unification Guidelines have ceased to apply," he said.
Huang stressed and used the word "unambiguously" a dozen times in the statement, and said the government has been communicating the same information to the United States.
Huang spoke in response to the U.S. Department of State's statement Thursday quoting media reports that some senior Taiwanese officials claimed no distinction between "abolish" and "ceasing activity" regarding the council and its guidelines -- but as it turned out, the officials were misquoted. Huang said Friday that the report was filed by the Voice of America (VOA).
The VOA later issued a clarification Friday in response to its Feb. 27 report saying that both Presidential Office Secretary-General Tan Sun Chen and National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen denied any difference between "cease activity" and "abolish."
The VOA clarified that the two officials did not clearly make the statement during the press conference on Feb. 27, and expressed regret for the misunderstanding incurred by the report.
But Huang also said the Taiwanese government was not notified in advance before the State Department issued the statement. "There will inevitably be some gap in communications between the two countries. If the gap is caused by the VOA's report then we feel regret over that,¡¨Huang said. "The VOA has issued a clarification, and it has expressed regrets over the matter. We hope the situation is solved now." Huang said.
When asked about whether the government would protest to the American Institute in Taiwan about the State Department's statement, he said the United States had done nothing wrong. "The United States asked us to reiterate our stand. Diplomatically speaking, we cannot say the United States is at fault because it was a false report by the VOA that caused confusion. Whether it was because of the VOA report that a third party protested to or pressured the United States, we don't know about that, ¡¨Huang said.
Huang said that although communications between Taiwan and the United States are smooth, the government is dealing with a complicated issue and so communication gaps were inevitable. "The foundations of Taiwan-US relations are very good. Taiwan and the United States have far more things in common than the differences in our understanding,¡¨Huang said. "On the issue of the National Unification Council, we cannot say that we do not have differences in understanding. No matter how close the two countries are, it is impossible that we would look at things in the same way, 100 percent," he said. "But our common foundation is very solid. The solid foundation can allow us to communicate our differences in a rational, honest and friendly manner," he added.
Huang said the government in the past would send delegations to Japan, the EU, and the United States when necessary, but at present none are planned.
He also said there are no plans at the moment to send another delegation to the United States for further communication on the matter. He said there are scholars and other people frequently traveling between Taiwan and the United States, and that he believed people participating in exchange activities at this time will have opportunities to touch upon the subject.
(By Debby Wu)
ENDITEM/diG
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