U.S. and Taiwan (2006)

State Department Briefing, March 2

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli briefed reporters March 2.

Following is the transcript of the State briefing:

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U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
Thursday, March 2, 2006
12:45 p.m. EST

Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

QUESTION: One last quick one. Are the Russians keeping the U.S. advised about the proceedings with --

MR. ERELI: Yes. We have close and good contacts with the Russians and the Europeans as we move forward in the diplomacy, as well as the other Board of Governors -- members of the Board of Governors, the Chinese, the Indians and others.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

QUESTION: Sorry. I have one question about Taiwan. After the U.S. expressed a certain level of relief or a satisfaction about Taiwan's authority, not abolishing the Unification Council. Some officials in Taiwan stated that there's no difference between abolish and cease to function. The reality is the Council is terminated and President Chen hardly made any compromise. He still did what he said he would do. So is there any gap between the U.S. understanding and Taiwanese understanding about the wording in the final outcome?

MR. ERELI: No. There's no -- there shouldn't be any gap or difference of opinion here. President Chen's assurances were quite clear that the NUC had not been abolished. We've seen the reports of comments attributed to other party officials. We've been informed by the Taiwanese that these officials have been misquoted and the reports are not accurate. And it is our understanding from the authorities in Taiwan that the action they took on February 27th was deliberately designed not to change the status quo, and that was made clear in a statement by President Chen and that -- We have every confidence and assurance that President Chen -- the statements made by President Chen are reflective of his policy and his party's policy.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

(The briefing was concluded at 1:12 p.m.)

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