|
For
Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 26, 2004
Statement by the Press Secretary
Announcement of Election Results on Taiwan
We join the American people in congratulating the people
of Taiwan on the successful conclusion of their March 20
presidential election. Taiwan's Central Election Commission on March
26 officially proclaimed that Mr. Chen Shui-bian has won reelection,
and we congratulate Mr. Chen on his victory.
We recognize that there are pending legal challenges to
the results of the March 20 election. We applaud the people of
Taiwan for embracing established legal mechanisms and rejecting
extra-legal options to resolve their differences. We reject calls
for violence, which threaten the very democratic principles to which
we and the people of Taiwan are committed.
The maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan
Strait and the welfare of the people of Taiwan remain of profound
importance to the United States. To advance these goals, the United
States will fulfill its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.
It falls to Taiwan and Beijing to build the essential foundations
for peace and stability by pursuing dialogue through all available
means and refraining from unilateral steps that would alter Taiwan's
status.
We will continue to maintain close unofficial ties with
the people on Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan in
accordance with our one China policy, as embodied in the Taiwan
Relations Act and our three Joint Communiqus with the People's
Republic of China.
# # #
|
