Taiwan Foreign Minister Chien meets with Dick Cheney at US think-tank forum

Taipei Times/CNA ^ | 6-24-03 | CNA

[tallhappy]

Chien meets with Dick Cheney at US think-tank forum

CNA
Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003,Page 3

Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (²¤S·s) met with US Vice President Dick Cheney in private on Sunday on the sidelines of the 22nd American Enterprise Institute (AEI) World Forum in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Chien confirmed that the meeting took place, but would not divulge any details regarding his talks with Cheney out of respect for his host and the sensitivity of the meeting.

Informed sources said Chien discussed Taiwan-US relations with Cheney and other matters of mutual concern. Taiwan Repres-entative to the US Chen Chien-jen (µ{«Ø¤H) was also present at the meeting.

Chien had already met Cheney during the past three days on several occasions, but they had only shaken hands and chatted informally on those encounters.

Also, Chien held bilateral talks with US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and government leaders of other countries on a broad range of issues of mutual interest.

Chin Jih-hsin (¯³¤é·s), director of the North American Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was also attending the World Forum, said Chien has reaffirmed Taiwan's support for the global war on terrorism and reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan while meeting with US officials and congressional leaders.

This was the first time that Chien has attended the annual AEI World Forum since he assumed office in February last year. Chien said the meeting was fruitful and that he was delighted to see the ROC national flag hoisted along with those of other participating countries on major streets of Beaver Creek -- a popular mountain resort in Colorado -- and at the conference venue.

Chien left for New York on Sunday afternoon for his first visit there since assuming office. Sources said Chien will take advantage of the visit to seek US support for Taiwan's plan to hold a referendum on some public issues such as participation in the World Health Assembly and the fate of the nation's controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

Chien will tell American authorities that the planned referendum is mainly designed for citizens to express their opinions about selected policy issues which have nothing to do with Taiwan's future status, the sources said, adding that Chien is expected to assure the White House that the planned referendum will not violate President Chen Shui-bian's (³¯¤ô«ó) promise in his inaugural speech that there would be no promotion in a referendum on whether Taiwan should move toward independence or unification with China.

According to Chien, Douglas Paal, director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , expressed the US government's concern at a June 16 meeting with him and at a farewell party held a week earlier for the outgoing AIT Taipei deputy director.

Chien said the US government is worried that the situation might get out of control if Taiwan calls for an unprecedented referendum, which would probably have an adverse effect on cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

[tallhappy]

This is a another of example of how the Bush administration is way better than the prior one.

Still, it is demeaning to us that we force a friend to take the back door at the behest of a despotic communist regime in China.

Stop the charade and invite him directly to the White House or wherever and have have official talks.

Stop letting Chinese communists dictate who and whom we can or cannot associate with.

[joesnuffy]

our most favored trading partner communist china with its record human rights violations
will not be opposed if Taiwan moves to independence
Irael will be parted to make a Palestinian terror state ...Taiwan would be sold out in a heart beat imo
Cheney is most likely spelling reality out to the Taiwanese imo
On the other hand with the we the people support the US going to war against communist China to aid Free China?

[hchutch]

Before we can directly confront the PRC, we need to have the missile defense system in place. Once it is in place, then we will be able to back Taiwan to the hilt. When dealing with an adversary with nuclear weapons, it is best to stack the deck.

[JohnnyZ]

I agree, go all the way with Taiwan now, before China has their invasion plans ready. Put 'em on the defensive.

We should be pushing the One China policy and reunification: "Look, China, just toss out your commies and stop being such bastards generally and we'll agree to let Taiwan run a unified China".

[Filibuster_60]

I doubt the missile defense can ever be effective enough to be relied on against a major adversary like China. But it's not like they'll commit national suicide by launching a first strike against our territory. Their nukes are for deterrence purposes only, to assure that we can't counter-attack the mainland with assurances of our own invulnerability.

[Filibuster_60]

It would be good if the Taiwanese government would agree to that modified "One China" policy, but the current pro-independence bunch thinks of Taiwan as a permanently separate country and isn't terribly interested in reconquering the mainland.

[hchutch]

I think it can. China's a lot like Enron. The thing is, our missile defense just has to raise enough questions about their ability to hit all their targets.

[Filibuster_60]

They can't expect to hit all their targets anyway, but even with NMD going up they have an easy solution to build more missiles. All they really require is to maintain a minimal deterrent as anything beyond that won't really give them bang for their buck. What they want is domination of their immediate periphery and enough muscle to make any external power think hard about entering their perimeter. It's not like they'll be able to invade Taiwan anytime soon, if ever, but they already have enough teeth to make life miserable for a Taiwan that declared official independence, and that's guaranteed to grow as the years go by.

The ultimate reason the status quo will be maintained is that either side would risk imposing unattainable objectives on itself by acting on its impulses. Whatever else happens, Taiwan will always be 100 miles off the coast of mainland China. On the one hand this means that a Chinese invasion will be exceedingly difficult even with air and naval supremacy and no US involvement. On the other hand it means that Taiwan will never escape the range of China's short-range missiles and long-range coastal artillery, which the Chicoms can deploy in massive numbers. So there you have the equilibrium: China won't dare attack unless Taiwan declares independence, but Taiwan won't dare declare independence since China will attack. The cost-benefit analysis for both sides can hardly be more crystal-clear.