TMCnet News
MOFA sets up task force to monitor Bush-Hu summit(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Taiwan will anxiously be watching the first-ever meeting between China's President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, concerned that the two ultra-powerful leaders may express new positions that could influence the island's fate. Foreign affairs spokesman Michel Lu said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday activated a 24-hour ministerial emergency task force to deal with various issues that might arise at the April 20 meeting. "We created it inside the ministry for special issues. When there is a (major) diplomatic issue, we just activate it," Lu said of the emergency task force. Taiwan is a sticky issue for the two superpowers. China insists democratic Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to retake the island by force if necessary. The U.S. is Taiwan's most influential ally and has pledged to sell Taiwan weapons to help it defend itself. Lu said foreign minister James Huang, who is the convener of the emergency task force, was keeping in close contact with other ministries, such as the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), to coordinate the task force with other government agencies. He said the task force would examine any issues relevant to Taiwan raised at the Bush-Hu summit. "If necessary we will make proposals to the minister or even the president," Lu said. Meanwhile the United Evening News mass daily and the Central News Agency quoted the government's top China policy maker Joseph Wu as saying Taipei was concerned about the Bush-Hu meeting. They also quoted Wu as saying Taiwan intelligence sources revealed the two leaders will not issue any joint statements and Bush will not make remarks critical of Taiwan. "I urge the U.S. government to listen to the voices of Taiwan's people and to treat democratic Taiwan fairly," Wu said at a news conference, according to CNA. "The U.S, has made freedom and democracy the central values of its diplomatic policy," Wu said. "It will make people around the world doubt the consistency of U.S. policy if Bush makes remarks that are harmful to a democratic country or critical of a popularly elected leader," Wu said. Wu said Taipei wanted to resume talks with China but Beijing's insistence on the island accepting its cherished "one China" principle as a precondition for dialogue was making things difficult. He said the government was therefore pushing for dialogue on economic issues -- areas where the two sides could cooperate. Wu said Taipei is concerned that Beijing might try to make Taiwan a "scapegoat" to deflect internal pressures on the Communist regime from Chinese people wanting freedom and democracy, according to CNA. |