Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday he believes that U.S. policy toward Taiwan and mainland China will not change, no matter who wins the U.S. presidential election.
Chen made the remarks while meeting with visiting members of a pro-Taiwan group in the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the 25-state European Union. "I think countries around the world are all concerned about the U.S. presidential election. The outcome of the race will become clear between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Wednesday (Taipei time) but I believe that no matter who wins, U.S. policy regarding the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will remain unchanged," Chen told his guests.
Chen expressed his gratitude for the European Parliament's encouragement and support for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) , and he said he hopes Taiwan can realize its goal of becoming an observer in the WHA -- the WHO's governing body -- in the near future, so that Taiwan does not become a hole in the global anti-pandemic network.
Praising the European Parliament for its opposition to the lifting of a 15-year-old E.U. ban on arms sales to mainland China due to Beijing's poor human rights record, Chen also thanked the European Parliament for its call for Beijing to remove the hundreds of missiles it has deployed against Taiwan and to resolve cross-strait disputes through peaceful dialogue with Taiwan.
The delegation was headed by Georg Jarzembowski, chairman of the pro-Taiwan group in the European Parliament, and its members included Aloyzas Sakalas, vice chairman of the pro-Taiwan group, as well as European Parliament members Philip Claeys, Ryszard Czarnecki and Amneli Jaatteenmaki.