President Chen Shui-bian on June 18 met the president of the Washington D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, Edwin J. Feulner. Also attending the meeting was Walter Lohman, director of the Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center, and Ken Scheffer, counselor to the president of the Foundation. President Chen, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan) expressed his warm welcome to the group on another visit to Taiwan and also wished them a happy Dragon Boat Festival. The president also expressed his appreciation to the Heritage Foundation for its staunch support for Taiwan and especially its assistance in helping Taiwan strengthen and solidify its democracy.
The president said that the Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center is home to many distinguished scholars specializing in Taiwan issues and cross-strait topics. He said the organization pays close attention to developments on Taiwan and is quite supportive of Taiwan. President Chen said that in May he brought up the topic of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act at a video conference that was held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. He said that this happened to set the stage for a paper penned by Ambassador Harvey Feldman that was released on May 22 entitled "The Taiwan Status Quo 'As We Define It.'" Ambassador Feldman was one of the persons involved in drafting the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and took part in designing the establishing of the American Institute in Taiwan. Given Ambassador Feldman's previous work, the president cited as authoritative his interpretation of the content and spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act.
The president also said that statements made by John J. Tkacik, Jr., another expert at the Heritage Foundation on the topic of China, totally conform to mainstream values on Taiwan, especially that Taiwan should have an offensive ability in its defense policy. The president said the United States government should examine policies regarding Taiwan that no longer meet the needs of the times. He also called on the American government to hold negotiations with and sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan, which would be to the benefit of both countries.
The president noted that he recently met with Raymond F. Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan and reiterated during their talks that he would uphold his "four noes" pledge to the United States government, American President George W. Bush and the world. However, efforts to continue to build a Taiwan identity and solidify democracy on Taiwan will also be undertaken during his final year in office, he said. As a result, he said, Taiwan attempts to enter the World Health Organization under the name "Taiwan." Even though Taiwan is unable to reach its goal, he said he hopes that the world will hear the voices of the 23 million people of Taiwan. In addition, he said that the government's decision to apply under the name "Taiwan" is supported by 95% of the public and across party lines. He said that this is quite an achievement given Taiwan's pluralistic and oftentimes fracas society. He added that while the United States government is unable to support Taiwan in its effort to enter the WHO under the name "Taiwan," he appreciates the administration's continued support for observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Assembly and meaningful participation for Taiwan in the WHO.