State Dept.'s No. 2 Defends Taiwan Stance

tsfrank

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 10, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The second-ranking State Department official said Wednesday that ''lives can be lost'' if the U.S. miscalculates on China-Taiwan relations, responding to complaints about how Taiwan's president was treated during a recent visit to Latin America.

In a tense exchange at a House committee hearing, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said, ''We want to be supportive of Taiwan, while we're not encouraging those that try to move toward independence. Because let me be very clear: Independence means war.''

Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., suggested the U.S. failed to accord President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan with the proper respect because the Bush administration allegedly refused to let him choose the U.S. city he would use for transit.

''There are big stakes here ... where lives can be lost,'' Zoellick said at the hearing of the House International Relations Committee.

Before Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington last month, China had indicated the United States had not done enough to chastise Chen for his Feb. 27 scrapping of a Taiwanese government body responsible for eventual unification with the mainland.

China considers self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and frowns on any visits by its leaders that might imply Taiwanese sovereignty.

China pledged to keep the island from independence by force if necessary. The United States has pledged to provide Taiwan the means to defend itself and also has hinted it would join a war should China invade.

The diplomatic spat began last week when Chen rejected an offer to stop for refueling in Alaska en route to and from Paraguay and Costa Rica, because he viewed it as a slight to Taiwan's dignity.

Chen had asked for stops in New York and San Francisco but was refused, media in Taiwan reported.