Thursday, August 19, 2010

AIT affirms 'solid' U.S.-Taiwan relations


Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) reaffirmed the "solid" relationship between the United States and Taiwan Thursday in response to a question regarding a domestic political controversy about current bilateral relations.

"I think the U.S.-Taiwan relations are pretty solid, politically and economically...but of course there is room for improvement, such as in the area of educational and cultural exchange, " said Sheila Paskman, spokeswoman of the AIT, the U.S. representative office in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Paskman was responding to a reporter's question about what Su Tseng-chang, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party's candidate in the year-end Taipei mayoral election, said earlier this week in New York. Su said that the current administration of President Ma Ying-jeou "had boasted about its accomplishment of improving Taiwan-U.S. relations."

She also reiterated U.S. support for improved cross-Taiwan Strait relations and the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), a historic trade pact signed June 29 that aims to liberalize trade between Taiwan and China.

Paskman, who took up her position in July, declined to compare bilateral relations during the current and the previous administrations, saying that she was new to the job and was not in a position to make comparisons.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Su's comment with a press release Wednesday, citing comments by U.S. officials and U.S. support for the signing of the ECFA to highlight the current administration's success in managing Taiwan-U.S. ties. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc