Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Amaunet]

In Nod to China, Bush Bluntly Warns Taiwan


Bush is not following the neocon agenda as closely as he has in the past. Is this a real change in philosophy or a reelection ploy? -Am


Updated 8:48 PM ET December 9, 2003


By Brian Rhoads

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush bluntly warned Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian against changing the status quo with China in tough words delivered on Tuesday in a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Bush's comments were a warning to Chen not to hold a referendum on the island alongside a March presidential election, plans for which have sparked anger and fear in China that Taiwan is creeping toward independence.

"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo, and the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose," Bush said, seated with Wen in the Oval Office.

His statement marked a nuanced hardening of the usual U.S. line that Washington does "not support" independence moves by the island, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province that must one day return to the fold.

Wen, who had come seeking reassurances the United States would do something to rein in Taiwan, welcomed Bush's comments.

"We very much appreciate the position adopted by President Bush toward the latest moves and developments in Taiwan, that is, the attempt to resort to referendum of various kinds as an excuse to pursue Taiwan independence," he said.

Bush's remarks raised eyebrows among Taiwan backers. Neoconservative Gary Schmitt of the Washington-based Project for the New American Century group said the Bush policy was muddled and "the long-term impact of what the Bush administration is doing will in fact fuel the very crisis they are trying to avoid."

Schmitt added the result was "not nearly as catastrophic as it might have been."

A White House spokesman insisted there had been no change in policy on Taiwan, which Washington supplies with arms and Bush vowed in April 2001 to do "whatever it took to defend." A senior official said Bush was dropping the "ambiguity."

Tensions have escalated across the Taiwan Strait since November when the island's parliament passed a law allowing referendums, considered by China a cover for separatists trying to split the island democracy from the communist mainland.

Wen said he would seek peaceful reunification with Taiwan as long as there was a "glimmer of hope." China has warned that moves by Chen toward independence could lead to war.

FLEXIBLE

China also showed flexibility on the hot-button issues for the United States: its massive trade surplus and the yuan currency, which U.S. officials say is kept artificially low to help Chinese exporters at the cost of American jobs.

Wen said trade relations between the world's most-populous nation and the most powerful had improved, but admitted "problems do exist," citing the massive trade surplus with the United States, which U.S. officials say could hit $120 billion this year.

"The Chinese government takes this problem seriously," Wen said. He presented a proposal aimed at addressing U.S. concerns about the trade gap that called for increasing U.S. exports to China and consultations when disputes arise.

Bush told Wen he wanted to see Beijing make "concrete progress" toward a more flexible exchange rate for the yuan, virtually pegged for a decade at near 8.28 to the dollar.

The White House said China also had agreed to hold talks on the yuan currency in Beijing in January. It acknowledged the transition to a free float would be complex and take time.

China has resisted, saying it is studying yuan reform but that a revaluation now would rock its fragile banking system.

Both men played up the importance of relations, which have warmed steadily since China backed the U.S. war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Both sides have been cooperating in a bid to resolve the crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Wen told Bush it was too early for another round of talks on the issue.

Earlier, Bush feted Wen with a formal welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, complete with a fife and drum corps in American Revolutionary uniforms.

U.S. officials said the pageantry was unprecedented for the Bush White House for anyone below the rank of head of state.

Wen, who wraps up his four-day U.S. tour with a stop in Boston on Wednesday, is the highest-ranking member of the new generation of Chinese leaders led by President Hu Jintao to visit the United States. They took over the Communist Party in November 2002 and the government in March.

Several hundred protesters outside a hotel where Wen was due to speak on Tuesday night handed out flyers calling for freedom for imprisoned dissidents and chanted slogans like "Free Tibet Now." One placard read: "Taiwan is a sovereign state." (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Carol Giacomo)

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=031209&cat=news&st=newschinausadc