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 | Tuesday, May 02, 2000, updated at 10:55(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Gore Reaffirms One-China Policy And Support for PNTRUS Vice President and Democrat presidential candidate Al Gore has reaffirmed that the United States should continue its "one-China" policy and grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR).Gore, in a foreign policy speech delivered to the International Press Institute in Boston Sunday, also stressed that China and Russia should not be viewed as enemies but as "vital partners." "During the cold war, we worked to contain these two powers and limit their reach. Our task in the 21st century is not making them weak, but instead to encourage forces of reform," he said. Calling for a policy toward China "that is focused on results, not rhetoric," Gore emphasized that "it is wrong to isolate and demonize China, to build a wall when we need to build a bridge." While expressing his concern over tensions that are now building between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Gore stressed the need "to maintain our commitment to the 'one-China' policy." He also urged the two sides across the Taiwan Straits "to intensify their dialogue and to resolve their problems by peaceful means." "I am deeply concerned that those in the Congress who are pushing the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act are blind to its consequences: a sharp deterioration in the security of the region, " Gore said. But he said the Clinton administration "is honoring its obligation to make defensive weapons available to Taiwan." The Chinese government has been firmly against arms sales to Taiwan and called on the United States to stop selling all kinds of weapons to the island, which is part of China, as a way of reducing tension in the region. Despite opposition from labor unions, the underlying buttress for the Democratic Party, Gore voiced his strongest yet backup for normalizing trade ties with China on a permanent basis. "I strongly support permanent normal trade relations with China, and I will continue to press the Congress to support it this year. I support China's membership in the World Trade Organization, to make China abide by the same rules of international trade that we follow today," he said. In his speech, the Democrat presidential hopeful also characterized his future foreign policy as "forward engagement," which means pinpointing major security issues from a new perspective of "the global age" and trying to solve relevant problems before they grow into crises. "In the global age, we must be prepared to engage in regional conflicts selectively + where the stability of a region important to our national security is at stake," he said. Gore said that America cannot be the world's policeman, but it should reject "the new isolationism that says: Don't help anywhere, because we cannot help everywhere." The vice president also said that America has a vital interest in promoting its own economic prosperity throughout the world. "We need to promote the stable flow of investment around the world," he said.
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