2009-11-18

DPP Statement regarding the U.S.-China Joint Statement


DPP statement regarding the U.S.-China Joint Statement


November 17, 2009



Concerning the failure to includethe Taiwan Relations Act in the U.S.-China Joint Statement following the meeting between U.S. President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, the DPP makes the following statement:



First, in the second point of the joint declaration, "Building and Deepening Bilateral Strategic Trust", both sides underscored the importance of the Taiwan issue in U.S.-China relations. The U.S. stated that it "follows its one China policy and abides by the principles of the three U.S.-China joint communiques", but there is no mention of the Taiwan Relations Act’s concern for security in the Taiwan Strait. Past public statements made by the U.S. government regarding the issue of the Taiwan Strait have never deviated from the Three Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act. Even though President Obama mentioned both during his press conference statement, this does not make up for the regretful failure to include the Taiwan Relations Act in the Joint Statement. The DPP believes this is a step back from the U.S.' previous standpoints. We request that the Ma Administration take full responsibility and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs request a clarification from the U.S. government as well as a remedy.



Secondly the Joint Statement declares, "The United States welcomes the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and looks forward to efforts by both sides to increase dialogues and interactions in economic, political, and other fields, and develop more positive and stable cross-Strait relations." The DPP has always supported cross-strait exchanges, but in regards to political exchanges, they must be carried out without political pre-conditions and with a domestic consensus as the foundation to openly and wholeheartedly carry out substantive dialogue and interaction. Presently, China holds to the "One China" precondition, which negates Taiwan's sovereignty, places all manner of restrictions on Taiwan, and irrationally demands political interaction between both sides. These actions by China are not what the mainstream opinion in a democratic society is willing to accept.


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