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Wednesday, February 02, 2000, updated at 15:46(GMT+8)
World US House Passes Bill on Taiwan Security, Clinton to Veto It

The US House of Representatives Tuesday passes the so-called Taiwan Security Enhancement Act, which the Clinton administration has said it may veto because the Act undermines the stability in Asia.

The measure, which will hurt the U.S.-China relations and was strongly condemned by the Chinese government, was approved 341 to 70 in the Republican-led chamber and will go to the Senate.

The legislation would require the U.S. defense secretary to establish direct communication with military forces in Taiwan, increase training operations, allow more Taiwanese military officials to attend U.S.military academies and require annual Pentagon reports on threats to Taiwan's security.

In a statement earlier in the day, the White House said it "strongly opposes" the measure because it "would seriously diminish Taiwan's security and undermine the important U.S. objective of stability in Asia."

"This bill would mandate a number of new security and military arrangements with Taiwan that could create dangerous, false and inaccurate expectations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," said the statement.

"Movement toward a more formal military relationship (with Taiwan) also could have other serious unintended negative consequences," it added.

If the bill were also passed by the Senate and sent to President Clinton in its present form, his senior advisers would recommend that it be vetoed, said the statement.

Several provisions in the bill, the statement added, "interfere with the president's broad authority to control the disclosure of information about foreign negotiations an other sensitive national security and foreign relations information."

The bill also interfere with the president's "authority" and "ability" to carry out his responsibilities for the conduct of the nation's foreign relations.

The measure was sharply condemned by China. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said on Monday that China has demanded that the U.S. Congress immediately stop their moves to infringe on China's sovereignty by passing the bill.

A few U.S. Congressmen have pledged their full support for the approval of the measure, Zhu said. "The nature of their moves is to first broaden U.S. domestic laws so as to form a legal basis for providing all manner of advanced weaponry systems to Taiwan and building up and expanding direct contacts between the armed forces of U.S. and Taiwan."

Zhu said that the measure is also meant to interfere in China's eventual reunification with Taiwan, noting that such attempts posed a "serious threat" to the "relationship across the Taiwan

Straits, the peace and stability in Asia-Pacific region, and the Sino-U.S. ties."

In Washington, Chinese Embassy spokesman Yu Shuning said on Monday: "We strongly urge the U.S. government to take effective measures to prevent this act from being adopted in the Congress

and to prevent it from becoming law."

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