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US ‘clarifies’
statements on ‘one China’
HE SAID, SHE SAID: Confusion and
misinterpretation prevailed as clarifications had to be made over the Chinese
and US chiefs of staff’s respective remarks about ‘one China’
By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
The US Department of State has issued a note of “clarification” that appears to
contradict Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Chief of General Staff Chen
Bingde’s (陳炳德) version of what he was told by US Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton about US policy toward Taiwan.
At a Washington press conference on Wednesday, Chen said: “During my office call
on Secretary Clinton this morning, she told me — she reiterated the US policy;
that is, there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China.”
His remarks alarmed Taiwanese-American groups, who called the US Department of
State on Thursday asking for an explanation.
They particularly wanted to know if US policy toward Taiwan had changed.
Late on Thursday night, a US official said: “The United States has maintained a
consistent policy across eight administrations; our ‘one China’ policy, based on
the three US-China Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, has not
changed. The secretary reiterated this policy yesterday in her meeting with
General Chen.”
“The United States welcomes the recent improvement in cross-strait relations,
opposes any unilateral actions by either side to alter the status quo, and
believes that cross-strait issues should be resolved peacefully in a manner
acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” the official
added.
“In her meeting with Chen, the secretary also reviewed the results of last
week’s S&ED [Strategic and Economic Dialogue] and noted the importance of having
senior PLA representatives participate in the S&ED for the first time. The
secretary emphasized the importance of developing more sustained and substantive
military-to-military engagement that increases transparency and familiarity,”
the official said. “The secretary and General Chen also emphasized the
importance of people-to-people ties in building a positive, cooperative,
comprehensive relationship between the United States and China.”
While the “clarification” seemed to go out of its way not to upset Chen, it also
made clear — without directly saying it — that Clinton did not tell him that
there was only “one China” in the world and that Taiwan was part of China.
Nor was Chen’s misrepresentation of Clinton’s remarks the only upset at the
press conference that was held as part of the Chinese general’s week-long visit
to the US.
The conference was held jointly with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Michael Mullen, and in response to a question about the possible sale of
advanced F-16C/D fighter jets to Taiwan, Mullen also appeared to misrepresent US
policy.
He said: “As General Chen said, Secretary Clinton repeated and I would only
re-emphasize the United States policy supports a ‘one China’ policy. And I
certainly share the view of the peaceful reunification of China.”
Later, Captain John Kirby, a spokesman for Mullen, explained: “The chairman
fully supports the United States’ ‘one China’ policy, which is based on the
three US-China Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act. This policy has
been consistent across eight administrations. The United States supports a
peaceful resolution acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
It is this peaceful resolution to which the chairman was referring.”
When asked what its take on the matter was, the Washington-based Formosan
Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) said that the “misquotes and
misinterpretations” by Chen and Mullen showed how confusing the US “one China”
policy could be.
“The US needs to make it clear that its ‘one China’ policy only relates to which
government is the government of China,” a FAPA official said.
“The US needs to make it clear that it supports democracy on the island and
fully supports the people on the island determining their own future. The US
should also make more of an effort to accept Taiwan as a full and equal member
in the international community, instead of leaving it in diplomatic isolation.
Admiral Mullen obviously misspoke, but it is highly regrettable that such
misstatements by high US officials have become so commonplace,” the FAPA
official added.
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