FOREIGN PRESS CENTER BRIEFING WITH SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (NSC) SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR ASIAN AFFAIRS EVAN MEDEIROS
QUESTION: Thank you, Evan. John Zang with CTI TV of Taiwan again._______________________
MR MEDEIROS: Yeah.
QUESTION: Will Taiwan be mentioned at all in these talks, particularly when you discuss the defense guidelines? Secondly, the KMT chair is going to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping right after the President and the prime ministers meeting.
MR MEDEIROS: Yeah.
QUESTION: What do you think of the event? Thank you.
MR MEDEIROS: It’s an interesting question, John. I don’t anticipate Taiwan coming up. It’s not something that would normally or naturally come up between the U.S. and Japan in this kind of meeting. But what I would say is I think that there is a strong, abiding interest on the part of the United States in ensuring cross-strait stability and security. We’re very firm in our commitments to these issues and these principles in our relationship with Taiwan.
On the question that you raise about the KMT chairman’s visit to China, I mean, our approach has always been very consistent, which is we support any and all cross-strait interactions that are done at a pace and in a manner acceptable to both sides and in a way that ensures continued cross-strait stability. In that context, I thought it was interesting that about a month ago, Zhang Zhijun had an editorial in – I believe it was People’s Daily in which he talked about being open to interactions and conversations with all aspects of Taiwan society. We think that’s an important, constructive step as Taiwan enters into its election period.
As you know, as a democracy, we’ll be in touch with all sides about their position and their approach. I follow very closely what Dr. Tsai has to say about cross-strait issues. I thought her recent comments were quite interesting and quite constructive, and we look forward to hearing more from her about what her approach is all about.
Thank you. We’ll stop there.
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1 comment:
The part you bolded seemed to me to be the standard boilerplate response. I thought this section was the interesting part In that context, I thought it was interesting that about a month ago, Zhang Zhijun had an editorial in – I believe it was People’s Daily in which he talked about being open to interactions and conversations with all aspects of Taiwan society. We think that’s an important, constructive step as Taiwan enters into its election period. He seems to be saying that China should be talking to the DPP too.
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