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MND denies defense minister gave assurance to U.S. government

ROC Central News Agency

2007-12-12 22:58:20

    Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) A Ministry of National Defense (MND) official denied Wednesday that Defense Minister Lee Tien-yu's ongoing Latin American visit is to assure the U.S. government that Taiwan will not do anything to disturb cross-Taiwan Strait ties.

    Chen Kuo-hsiang, director-general of the MND's General Political Warfare Bureau, issued the denial in response to questions from legislators on the Legislative Yuan's National Defense Committee.

    Legislator Ting Shou-chung of the main opposition Kuomintang claimed that Lee has disguised the main purpose of his visit to Central and South America, saying that his main purpose is actually to make a transit stop in the United States to assure the American government that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -proposed referendum on whether Taiwan should join the United Nations under the name Taiwan is not aimed at provoking China nor will it cause a conflict across the Taiwan Strait.

    The DPP's plan to hold the referendum alongside the presidential election next year has caused deep concern in both the U.S. and China, with American government officials reiterating on many occasions Washington's opposition to such a proposal, while Chinese and U.S. officials are also making frequent contact on the issue. China sees the referendum proposal as a move to march toward de jure independence, while the American government is worried that the movement might affect the cross-strait status quo.

    According to Ting, Washington is also concerned that Taiwan's legislative and presidential elections to be held early next year will further complicate cross-strait ties, which are already tense, and Lee was asked by the U.S. government to give an assurance that Taiwan will not do anything provocative.

    Chen said he did not know where Ting's sources were from but he assured him that Lee's Latin American visit is purely for military exchanges with Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the region.

    According to Chen, Lee departed Nov. 29 to visit several of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, including the Dominican Republic and Paraguay, and is scheduled to return to Taiwan Thursday.

(By Elisa Kao)

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