Bashing rival China might be a good way to get elected in Taiwan, but President Chen Shui-bian sent a strong message to Beijing on Thursday that he's ready for friendlier relations during his second term. Chen loaded up his inauguration speech with conciliatory language aimed at soothing Beijing and assuring the United States that he wasn't a reckless leader seeking to spark a war with his communist neighbor. "The Beijing authorities must understand the deep conviction held by the people of Taiwan to strive for democracy, to love peace," said the 53-year-old president, a former Taipei mayor and lawyer. But China's state-run media slammed Chen with criticism on Friday, questioning the sincerity of his inaugural speech and branding him a "slippery politician" intent on independence. An editorial in the China Daily proclaimed: "Chen Shui-bian's latest offer of 'goodwill' turns out to be another sham." "Chen Shui-bian's speech cannot cover up true intent of Taiwan independence," read a headline in the Beijing News.
| Son of a gun, they got that one right. |
Chen jangled nerves in Washington by campaigning on an anti-China platform that kept Chinese leaders fuming. The message played well with Chen's core supporters, who oppose unification. But keeping friendly U.S. ties is vital to Taiwan, and after his narrow March 20 re-election, Chen got to work repairing frayed relations. Taiwanese officials acknowledged that his speech was vetted by Washington for provocative rhetoric. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher congratulated Chen on Thursday, but he made it clear that Washington wouldn't back any move by Taiwan - or China - to unilateral try altering the status quo. "We do not support Taiwan independence and we oppose attempts by either side to unilaterally alter the status quo," he said.
| "Don't make us come in there!" |
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Chen's address "creates an opportunity for Taipei and Beijing to restore dialogue across the Strait." Despite Chen's reassuring tone, China warned Taiwan in a commentary published Thursday in state-run media not to pursue independence, saying the island should not "gamble on the mainland's tolerance." China fears that Chen would use a new constitution to enshrine Taiwan's independent status.
But Chen promised that the constitutional changes wouldn't touch on the sensitive sovereignty issues because Taiwanese weren't ready to take them up. "I am fully aware that consensus has yet to be reached on issues related to national sovereignty, territory and the subject of unification and independence," he said. He said the revisions would focus on streamlining the government and legislature so that Taiwan can keep up in an increasingly competitive world. Chen got high marks from the leader of the visiting U.S. delegation at the ceremony: senior Republican Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa, who heads the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs for the House Committee on International Relations. "I thought it was an extraordinary, personal statement of moderation," Leach told reporters. "Clearly he is seeking the consensus of the Taiwanese people and just as clearly he is seeking not to be too confrontational with the mainland," Leach said. "I think he very artfully made a very profound statement." The speech was also praised by Richard Bush, who recently served as one of Washington's top envoys for Taiwan relations. "I think his approach to the revision of the constitution is a very constructive one, and I hope the other side will be able to tolerate it and accept it," Bush told reporters in Taipei. |