For Immediate Release
Washington DC – May 8, 2003
Contact: (202) 547-3686
Taiwanese American Organizations Call Upon White House To Refer To Taiwan As Taiwan And Nothing Else
In a May 8, letter to the White House, Taiwanese American organizations expressed their dismay about the occurrence on the front page of East Asia and the Pacific section of the State Department’s newly released 2002 Country Report on Human Rights of the reference to Taiwan as ‘China’ (Taiwan only.)
The letter states: Taiwan’s president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, has repeatedly stated that Taiwan no longer maintains that there is only “One China.” In recent statements, he has been quite clear about the separate sovereignty of Taiwan. On August 3, 2002, he declared, “Taiwan is not a part of any other country, nor is it a local government or province of another country. Taiwan can never be another Hong Kong or Macau, because Taiwan has always been a sovereign state.”
The letter continues “there is no such thing as a “divided China” today, that Taiwan is not a province of China, and that thus Taiwan can not be referred to as “China (Taiwan only.)”
The letter concludes: “We ask that you consistently refer to Taiwan as “Taiwan” in the next Human Rights Report and your other publications”.
Ming-chi Wu, Ph.D., President of FAPA, states: “Taiwan is not part or province of China. Taiwan today is a sovereign nation and there is no dispute about its de facto independent status. It is high time that the rest of the world in general and the United States, in particular, accepts this reality.”
「台灣就是台灣」，台美人聯署致函布希總統
數個台美人社團於五月八日聯署致函布希總統，對於國務院日前公佈的2002年各國人權報告中，將台灣列為「中國（只限台灣）」，表達強烈的不滿。
在這封致布希總統的信函中表示，布希總統上任以來對台灣的友好與支持是有目共睹的，因此台美人對於國務院2002年度世界各國人權評估中將台灣標示為「中國（只限台灣）」，感到相當地驚訝。
台美人在信中接著表示：「陳水扁總統一再的表示台灣已經不再死守著過去的一個中國政策。陳水扁總統在近來諸多言論中清楚地表示台灣的主權地位。去年的八月三日，他更宣佈台灣不是任何國家的一部分，也不是一個地方政府或是任何一個國家的一省。台灣不是另一個香港或是澳門，因為台灣自始致終為一個主權國家。」
台美人在信中最後表示，今日很明顯地已經沒有所謂「一個分裂的中國」，台灣不是中國的一省，因此，台灣在國務院的報告中絕不應該被稱為「中國（只限台灣）。」
帶領台美人社團簽署此封信的台灣人公共事務會會長吳明基表示：「如果台灣不叫台灣，台灣關係法今天就不叫台灣關係法，這樣的道理非常地清楚。布希總統在擔任德州州長時曾訪問過台灣，我們相信，親身經歷使他清楚瞭解到台灣並不是中國的一部份。台美人希望布希總統能指示國務院修正報告，將『台灣與中國，一邊一國』的台海現狀真實反映在往後的相關報告甚或是政策執行上。」
