NO ACTION: The US aims to safeguard cross-strait stability, and an independence referendum would be a unilateral action aimed at altering the ‘status quo,’ the AIT said
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 14, 2019
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday said it does not support a referendum
Former minister of national defense Michael Tsai, right, calls for amendments to the Referendum Act at a news conference organized by the Formosa Alliance in Taipei on Jan. 31. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
on Taiwanese independence, after a former AIT chairman penned an open letter advising against the proposed plebiscite by pro-independence group Formosa Alliance.
“The US has a deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability. Taiwan is a reliable partner, and we appreciate Taiwan’s efforts to maintain peace and stability,” AIT spokeswoman Amanda Mansour said in a statement.
Mansour reiterated that the US has long been opposed to unilateral actions aimed at altering the “status quo.”
“It has been our long-standing policy that we do not support a referendum on Taiwan independence,” she said, but cited a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence in October last year in which he said that the US would always believe that Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all Chinese. [FULL STORY]
