TAIWAN'S NEW CONSTITUTION MAY CONFLICT WITH U.S. POLICY: U.S. OFFICIAL
ROC Central News Agency
2007-01-31 11:58:54
Washington, Jan. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's plan to enact a new constitution might conflict with the U.S. policy on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
John Negroponte, the U.S. intelligence chief who has been nominated by President George W. Bush as deputy secretary of state, made the remarks in response to a question on the issue during a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Negroponte reiterated that the United States supports a "one-China" policy and sticks to the three communiques with China. "And we believe that it would be unwise to do anything that might be at cross purposes with those three," he said.
Asked if he thinks the new constitution proposed by Taiwan would be "at cross purposes, " Negroponte said: "I would want to study the implications, but it certainly strikes me that that would be a distinct possibility."
Last week in Taipei, President Chen Shui-bian renewed his proposal to enact a new constitution that is "timely, relevant and viable" for Taiwan.
Chen claimed that without the new constitution, Taiwan cannot become a "normal, complete and progressive" democracy.
According to an idea touted by Chen repeatedly over the past several years, the draft of the new constitution should be put to a referendum this year so that the new constitution can be implemented in 2008.
(By Chiehyu Lin and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/Li
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