Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Lee Armitage
reiterated in Beijing Friday at a press conference that the US
policy on Taiwan is based on the one-China policy and the
principles enshrined in the three Sino-US joint
communiqués.?
The referendum does raise some questions and make people doubt
the motive of those who set forth the referendum, he said, because
"as I understand it, referenda are generally reserved for items or
issues which are either very divisive or very difficult. And the
wording I've seen of the referendum seems to be neither divisive
nor difficult."
Meanwhile, he said the US has dealt with the Taiwan issue
sensitively and sensibly since the normalization of relations
between the United States and China 25 years ago, adding that US
President George W. Bush has made it quite explicitly that he will
oppose any unilateral actions to change the status quo of
either side across the Taiwan Strait.
The two questions proposed by leader of Taiwan authorities Chen
Shui-bian for the March 20 Taiwan referendum have aroused
opposition from various circles on both sides of the Taiwan
Strait.
During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the United States
last year, President Bush stated clearly the US stance of adherence
to the one-China policy, abiding by the three Sino-US joint
communiqués and opposing any word or activity of the Taiwan
authority to change the status quo of Taiwan, and the US
authority has reiterated this stance time and again, he noted.
On the Korean nuclear issue, Armitage said both the United
States and China hope that the second round of six-party talks can
be restarted as soon as possible.
The US side appreciated China's efforts to bring a peaceful
resolution to this question, he said.
Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan, vice foreign ministers
Dai Bingguo and Zhou Wenzhong have held talks respectively Friday
with Armitage on bilateral relations, the Taiwan issue and the Iraq
issue.
At the press conference, Armitage also answered questions on
US-China bilateral trade and military relations.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2004)