Taiwan authorities must correct their mistakes

The U.S. State Department on Thursday asked the Taiwan authorities to correct their comments that there is no distinction between "abolish" and "ceasing activity" with regard to the "National Unification Council." Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian declared on Feb. 27 that the "National Unification Council" (NUC) would "cease to function" and that the "National Unification Guidelines" would "cease to apply," which has drawn immediate opposition and condemnation from major political parties and groups on the island. And at the same time, many countries in the world have reiterated their stand on adhering to the one-China policy and opposing Chen's move of advancing "Taiwan independence". The action Taiwan took on February 27 was deliberately designed not to change the status quo. Abrogating an assurance would be changing the status quo, and that would be contrary to that understanding. The maintenance of Taiwan's assurances is critical to preservation of the status quo. There should be no unilateral change in the status quo.