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U.S. LOOKS FORWARD TO CONTINUED CLOSE TIES WITH TAIWAN: STATE DEP'T

ROC Central News Agency

2007-03-21 12:36:17

    Washington, March 20 (CNA) The U.S. State Department, in its first official comment on the replacement of Taiwan's representative in Washington, D.C., said Tuesday that the United States looks forward to continued close, beneficial ties with the people of Taiwan.

    State Department spokesman Sean McCormack made the remarks during a routine press conference in which he was asked about his view on Taiwan's latest decision to appoint Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu to replace David Ta-wei Lee as the head of its mission in the United States.

    Wu, who is widely seen as having a very close relationship with President Chen Shui-bian, will be the first political appointee from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to be posted in the U.S. capital.

    Asked whether the personnel reshuffle will make U.S.-Taiwan dialogue easier, McCormack responded by saying that "we look forward to continued close, beneficial relations with the people of Taiwan."

    During the press conference, McCormack was also asked about his view on the DPP administration's plan to promote a bill that would elevate a local Taiwan dialect to the level of official language, currently being Mandarin, that is also spoken in China.

    In response, McCormack said: "We have seen reports that the Taiwan Cabinet is considering a draft law that would confer equal status on Mandarin, the Taiwanese dialect, the Hakka dialect, and several aboriginal languages in use on the island. We have no further information at this time."

(By Chiehyu Lin and Sofia Wu)

enditem/Li