US experts greet Bush's comments with shock

TaipeiTimes ^ | 12-11-2003 | staff

[em2vn]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published on TaipeiTimes http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/12/11/2003079112 US experts greet Bush's comments with shock

REGIONAL ISSUES: Some were outraged, while others said Bush's statement was motivated by the need for Chinese pressure on North Korea BY Debby Wu STAFF REPORTER Thursday, Dec 11, 2003,Page 1 American legal experts described US President George W. Bush's concession to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (œØ¼ÒŒš) yesterday as "disgusting."

President of International League for Human Rights Scott Horton said that he was "shocked" to hear Bush's remarks and he believed Bush did not speak for the majority of the American people whom past surveys have shown to support Taiwan's self-determination and referendum rights.

Horton said that the remarks on opposing any unilateral change to the status quo in the cross-strait relationship were actually a result of the US' keen desire to get China's active support on the North Korea issue.

He pointed out that North Korea grabbed the chance to misbehave with missile tests and development of nuclear weapons while the US military has been overextended with two simultaneous military campaigns, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As a result, the Bush administration concluded that China's help was needed to resolve the Korean issue, Horton said.

"President Bush made the concession to China because the US is keen to get China involved in the talks with North Korea, and it is disgusting the US made such concessions to an authoritarian state," Horton said.

Horton said that most senior US government officials, however, considered Bush's statement as a concession that would be valued by China and cost them nothing.

"I don't think the Bush administration and its senior foreign policy advisors care even a second about the referendum issue in Taiwan. It's not important to them."

"What is important to them now is to bring China along as a collaborator in the North Korea talks," he said.

Jordan Paust, the University of Houston Law Foundation professor of law, also described Bush's words and the concession they implied as "frightening" and "disgusting."

Paust said that the US walked the same road of self-determination itself, and Taiwanese people should also be allowed to determine their own future.

Meanwhile, Senior Advisor to President Peng Ming-min (ÅíÃ÷Ãô) said that what Bush meant by "status quo" was not clear and he would not put too much emphasis on it.

"The status quo in the cross-strait relationship is that Taiwan is a sovereign independent nation," Peng said.

Peng said that it was China, by targeting 500 missiles at Taiwan, that was attempting to change the status quo.

Horton, Paust and Peng all responded to Bush's remarks during the International Human Rights Roundtable held by Academia Historica and Preparatory Office of National Human Rights Museum yesterday.

[em2vn]

George is becoming, more and more, an East coast wobbly.His next trick will be to cancel the submarine sell to Taiwan.

[glorgau]

If the Tiawanese develop and delploy their own nukes, they'll vault to the "head of the line" when it comes to foreign policy attention from the US.

[plain talk]

Wobbly? Obviously N. Korea is a higher priority issue than Taiwan. Would be nice to have both issues go our way but then life isn't always so easy.

[steve50]

Follow the money. Lot's of powerful people have a vested interest in Chinese slave labor.

[Jim Cane]

Follow the money. Lot's of powerful people have a vested interest in Chinese slave labor.

WalMart OWNS Bush.

[TexasCajun]

When I first heard this, I thought it was something a liberal democrat like Bill Clinton would say, not a republican president.

Just what has Bush done that could be considered conservative? Not a Damn Thing!

And now Tom Ridge wants to legalize illegal immigration.

There really is no difference between the parties!

[free from tyranny]

The duplicitous reds hold the leash of the rabid Kim Jong Ill. I am certain Condi and GW are aware of this. The problem is that the US corporations ( including banks and bond holders ) are putting pressure on GW to sooth the tensions with their most favored trading partner.

The Chinese economy continues strip opportunites from the majority of Americans. The FAT CATS are feasting.

[Filibuster_60]

Bush criticized Taiwan only because he knew he could get away with it as a Republican.

Let's not forget it was Nixon, the supposedly diehard anti-communist, who set in motion this 32-year history of appeasing Beijing.

[meenie]

George is in favor of democracy, freedom, liberty, and self-determination for all. He has stated this many times, in his call for intervention, war, and force to establish democracy. The leaders of the two regimes have a closer idea of how to achieve their goals than we would like to believe.

[Filibuster_60]

The Chicoms are only buying $100-200 million worth of US T-bonds per day. They've become a principal financer of our war on terror even as they continue to assist some of the targets of that war.

Let's face it: at heart Bush is a corporate globalist as much as an American patriot. He came to office thinking he could bend the global system to serve America's interest. Unfortunately he underestimated how many compromises he'd have to make in the process.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Makes you wonder...

[Theo]

DANG!!!! More and more often these sloppy "reporters" cover a story, but fail to include THE important piece of information -- the thing all the people quoted in the story are referring to....

Can anyone please provide the quote that the President said? Or a FR article that covers the actual quote?

Dang sloppy journalists....

[free from tyranny]

"Let's face it: at heart Bush is a corporate globalist as much as an American patriot. He came to office thinking he could bend the global system to serve America's interest. Unfortunately he underestimated how many compromises he'd have to make in the process."

A politician would never be able to ascend to the level of POTUS if they did not represent the interests of the those with the deepest pockets. The popular electorate is manipulated by money.Just stating the obvious.

The tragedy is that in China is much more efficient in maintaining their leadership postions to put foward the agendas of the wealthy elites. Thank you George Soros for your anti democratic,non participatory OPEN SOCIETY.

"We'll take care of you"

[Constantine XIII]

NO, it's Haliburton, you silly rabbit! </intense sarcasm>

[Jim Cane]

COSCO

[witnesstothefall]

International League for Human Rights whacko and a Houston Law Professor are the "US experts" quoted as the basis of this hard-hitting "article"?

Nobody ever heard of either of these two whack-jobs. That's the best you could do? lol