President Chen Shui-bian on the morning of February 26 met with Mr. Randall Schriver and Mr. Dan Blumenthal, the co-directors of the American Enterprise Institute's Taiwan Policy Working Group. Meeting at the Presidential Office, President Chen expressed his appreciation to the think tank for consistently paying attention to security issues in the Taiwan Strait as well as supporting and being a friend to Taiwan.
During the meeting, the guests mentioned that a Taiwan policy report which they co-authored said that only the people of Taiwan have the right to decide the future and status of Taiwan. Others do not have the right to make such a decision, they said. Only the people of Taiwan can select the future for Taiwan, and of course Taiwan's future belongs to the people of Taiwan. President Chen expressed his gratitude at this stance, seconding the viewpoint that the future of Taiwan should be decided by the people of Taiwan. This is the core meaning and value of self-determination and putting power in the hands of the people, he said.
President Chen also said that Taiwan originally planned to sent Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng and National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen to attend the ceremonies marking the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak. President Chen said the South Korean government agreed to the trip by the officials, who had planned to extend their congratulations to President Lee on behalf of President Chen. However, China received information regarding the planned visit and forced its cancellation. President Chen said this indicates that China has every intention of refusing to grant Taiwan any room in the international arena both from a central government and local government standpoint. This policy also extends to all political parties here. Since diplomacy represents a nation's sovereignty, China is willing to resort to any measure when it sees Taiwan taking any action that touches on the issue of sovereignty. The president said that the moves by China will only become more forbidding in the future.
The guests responded by saying that there is an endless number of examples in which China has taken action to isolate Taiwan in the international community. They said that while the United States is unable to prevent China from exercising pressure on a third country to be unfriendly to Taiwan, the United States can set a good example through its own conduct. For instance, they said the United States could increase high-level interaction and dialogue between Taiwan and the United States and treat Taiwan with dignity and respect. Mr. Schriver and Mr. Blumenthal said they believe this would set an example for other countries to follow. At the same time, this would also help counteract the pressure exerted by China. Increasing exchanges and dialogue among high-level officials would not only boost Taiwan-US understanding and communication, but also would grant Taiwan the respect it deserves, they said.
The guests were escorted to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Elizabeth Y. F. Chu to meet with President Chen. Also in attendance was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Lin Chia-lung.