President Lee Teng-hui this morning meets with Mr. Haley Barbour, Chairman of the U.S. Republican National Committee.
During the meeting, President Lee reiterates that the Republic of China is an idependent sovereign state which has existed for 85 years and has carried out the ideal of popular sovereignty advocated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the ROC's founding father, over a century ago.
Presidnet Lee also makes it clear that, though the ROC government and people will continue striving to realize the goal of China's unification, we will never accept Beijing's allegation that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China.
President Lee also tells his guest that the ROC, while doing her best in the field of economic development, has been sparing no efforts at enforcing political reforms. Moreover, in order to build the ROC into a modern, civilized country, the government and people here are committed to judicial, administrative, and educational reforms, he adds.
Meanwhile, President Lee highly values American traditional values such as freedom, democracy, and justice, adding that the United States has set a good example for democratic countries around the world by upholding these values. He also expresses his appreciation to the United States for her longtime support for the ROC and hopes the U.S. will continue to do so.
Mr. Barbour congratulates President Lee on winning the March 23 presidential election by garnering 54 percent of the votes. And he also expresses his admiration for the ROC's achievements in polical democracy during the past years.
Dr. Ding Mou-shih, Secretary-General of the ROC National Security Council, Mr. Stephen S. F. Chen, Deputy Secretary-General of the Office of the President, and ROC Vice Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen are also present at the meeting.