The United States on Tuesday expressed strong opposition to the
Taiwan authorities' proposed referendum on UN membership in the
name of Taiwan, saying that the initiative, with apparent pursuit
of name change, is "a step intended to change the status quo"
across the Taiwan Straits.
"We feel it is our obligation to warn that the content of this
particular referendum is ill-conceived and potentially quite
harmful. Bad public policy initiatives are made no better for being
wrapped in the flag of 'democracy,'" Thomas Christensen, deputy
assistant secretary of state in charge of East Asia and Pacific
affairs, said while addressing the concluding session of a
three-day US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference held in Annapolis,
Maryland. ?
Stressing that his remarks represent the agreed views of the US
government, Christensen said that the US does not support any
generic referendum on applying to the UN because such a move, which
would be only useful in domestic political posturing in Taiwan,
strikes the US as "odd and unproductive." ?
"For the US' part, the matter of how to respond would be
straightforward: We would reiterate that we do not support Taiwan's
membership in international organizations that require statehood
and therefore would not support such a referendum," he said.
?
The particular referendum supported by Taiwan leader Chen
Shuibian, he said, concerned the US considerably more because of
the issue of name change. ?
"This draft referendum raises the question of what Taiwan should
be called in the international community. Moreover, it does so in
what could be interpreted by many to be legally-binding popular
vote," Christensen said. ?
"It is the apparent pursuit of name change in the referendum,
therefore, that makes the initiative appear to us to be a step
intended to change the status quo," he said. ?
The senior State Department official rebuffed arguments that the
referendum, even if passed, would not amount to a pursuit of name
change, saying that such arguments strike the US as "purely
legalistic." ?
"After all, if the specific nomenclature does not matter, why
include it in the referendum in the first place," he asked.
?
At a fundamental level, he said, such legalistic arguments from
supporters of the referendum makes it seem that they do not take
seriously Taiwan's commitments to the US and the international
community not to pursue a change in Taiwan's official name, are
willing to ignore the security interests of the US, and are ready
to put at some risk the security interests of the Taiwan people for
short-term political gain.
(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2007)
