TAIWAN’S PREROGATIVE:：Raymond Burghardt said he doubted the voting outcome was affected by what any American had said, despite officials’ anti-DPP positions
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - Page 1
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt reiterated yesterday the US government’s neutrality in the Jan. 14 presidential election after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expressed concerns over US preference for specific political parties and its ramifications.
Burghardt, who began his visit to Taiwan on Sunday and leaves on Thursday — his 12th visit since February 2006 — sat down with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday morning before meeting DPP representative Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in the afternoon.
The main objective of the visit is to “get [the US and Taiwan] on the right foot” on a range of bilateral issues as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) begins his second term after winning his re-election bid, Burghardt told reporters after his 60-minute meeting with Wang.
Asked if the US government was able to maintain a neutral position throughout the presidential election, Burghardt said the answer was yes.
“I doubt that anything any American said had very much importance on how things came out,” Burghardt said, adding that Taiwanese made the decision in the election based upon several factors.
The important thing for the US is that it was a democratic and free election and has shown the maturity of Taiwan’s democracy, which has now become part of Taiwan’s identity, he said.
During the presidential campaign, an unnamed senior US official told the Financial Times that the US was concerned a win by then-DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) could “jeopardize” cross-strait stability. That official is believed to have been US National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon.
Former AIT director Douglas Paal, who visited Taiwan during the final week of the campaign in an individual capacity, publicly endorsed the so-called “1992 consensus,” one of the most debated campaign issues between the DPP and Ma’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
However, Hsiao, deputy executive officer of the New Frontier Foundation, the DPP’s think tank, expressed concern to Burghardt over a lack of US neutrality in the election and its ramifications on regional stability in the Asia-Pacific.
“While the US reiterated its neutrality in the election, some active and former US officials breached that pledge by their comments during the campaign,” said Hsiao, who met Burghardt on behalf of Tsai.
“Those comments caused people to doubt the US’ commitment to universal democratic principles and kept Taiwanese from making choices free of foreign interference and threats,” she said.
The DPP was concerned about increasing political, economic and military pressure from Beijing in the future after the re-election of Ma, whose composure would be a question, Hsiao said.
The DPP urged the US to abide by the Taiwan Relations Act to “safeguard Taiwan’s security and freedom,” she said.
Tsai does not plan to meet with Burghardt because she is in the middle of a nine-day “thank-you trip” to express gratitude to voters nationwide for their support during the election, Hsiao said.
Relaying Burghardt’s messages to the media after the meeting, Wang said his visitor had focused on three aspects — trade and investment, military exchanges and security, and cross-strait relations.
Wang said Burghardt said the US would like to “be informed before the Ma administration made decisions regarding cross-strait relations.”
In response to a reporter’s question, Wang declined to interpret the comment as a complaint about a lack of transparency on cross-strait developments during Ma’s first term.
Burghardt did not mention in the conversation Taiwan’s US beef ban, which was considered a crucial factor in the stalled bilateral negotiations on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), only saying that he was in Taiwan to discuss a wide range of trade issues, Wang said.
“However, everyone, including you and me, knows very well why the TIFA talks were suspended and why the issues are being brought up again since the election is now over,” Wang said.