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US to back ICAO bid
even after China protest: source
SOLID SUPPORT: Sources in Washington said
China¡¦s complaint that supporting Taiwan¡¦s bid violates the ¡¥one China¡¦ policy
would not change the US¡¦ stance
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
Washington on Tuesday reacted coolly to a complaint from China about new US
legislation expressing support for Taiwan¡¦s bid to gain observer status at the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), sources said.
Sources at the US Department of State and the US House of Representatives
assured the Taipei Times that the complaint would have no impact on the US¡¦
stance.
US President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law last week and
instructed US Secretary of State John Kerry to push for Taiwan¡¦s ICAO bid.
The legislation ¡§seriously violated¡¨ the ¡§one China¡¨ policy, Chinese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs spokesman Hua Chunying (µØ¬K¼ü) said in Beijing.
Hua said Beijing urged Washington to stop interfering in China¡¦s internal
affairs.
The complaint came as an overview of US-Taiwan policy issues was released by
Congressional Research Service specialists Shirley Kan and Wayne Morrison.
The report is aimed at keeping US Congress members of up to date on vital
issues. It said that Beijing continues to block Taiwan¡¦s participation in
international meetings and organizations.
For decades, Taipei has ¡§harbored fears¡¨ about whether Beijing¡¦s cooperation
with Washington has occurred at the expense of Taiwan¡¦s interests, the overview
said.
¡§US policy seeks a cooperative relationship with a rising PRC [People¡¦s Republic
of China], which opposes US arms sales and other official dealings with Taiwan
as interference in its internal affairs...¡¨ it said.
The report also warned that as President Ma Ying-jeou¡¦s (°¨^¤E) second term
progresses, Beijing could increase pressure on Taiwan to conduct political and
military cross-strait negotiations.
Beijing¡¦s patience may be tested by Taiwanese¡¦s sustained sense of identity, it
added.
¡§Despite the pronouncements of a ¡¥one China¡¦ by leaders in Taipei and Beijing,
and closer cross-strait ties, Taiwan¡¦s people retain a strong Taiwan-centric
identity after over a century of mostly separation from mainland China,¡¨ the
report said.
The overview emphasized that Taiwanese have pursued prosperity, security and a
democratic way of life and self-governance.
Moderate Taiwanese voters have generally supported close economic ties to the
PRC, but political separation, it added.
According to the overview, in August last year only 0.9 percent of Taiwanese
surveyed wanted cross-strait unification to be realized soon as possible, while
84 percent wanted to maintain the ¡§status quo¡¨ and 7 percent called for
immediate independence. The remaining 8 percent voiced no opinion.
¡§President Ma has to deal with a political propensity in his own party [the
Chinese Nationalist Pary (KMT)] to move even closer to the PRC,¡¨ the overview
said.
It said that two months before Ma¡¦s second inaugural address, China¡¦s Taiwan
Affairs Office (TAO) called for a new phase of mutual political trust, economic
benefits for both sides and shaping Taiwan¡¦s cultural understanding of the ¡§one
China national identity.¡¨
A month before Ma¡¦s address, then-TAO director Wang Yi (¤ý¼Ý) visited Washington
and met with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, where he indicated
Beijing¡¦s expectations to hold political talks with Taipei.
Beijing could soon start pressuring Taipei to start ¡§preparing for, if not
pressing for¡¨ political and military talks, the study said.
It added that the US has ¡§concerns¡¨ that Taiwan under Ma has not given
sufficient priority to national defense because it cut the defense budget in
2009, 2010 and 2011 until an increase last year.
¡§President Ma has failed to reach the promised defense spending of 3 percent of
GDP,¡¨ it said.
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