Ma’s office verifying U.S. visit bar report

Lo Chih-chiang, a spokesman for Ma’s office, said they were still “watching and verifying” the latest development concerning the president-elect’s proposal to visit the United States.

He was commenting on a report in yesterday’s local Taiwan newspaper United Evening News, which cited the Nilson Report as saying that Bush had already decided to reject Ma’s visit proposal.

Meanwhile, a former U.S. State Department official said Friday that Ma is unlikely to be invited to visit Washington D.C. prior to his inauguration, according to the Central News Agency (CNA).

Randy Schriver, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, expressed the doubt at a workshop held by the Washington-based think tank Heritage Foundation for discussions on Taiwan’s just-concluded presidential election. But Schriver was cited by the CNA as saying that he himself fully supports Ma’s making a trip to the United States before taking office.

Schriver, an expert in cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, said his doubt was based purely on his personal judgment rather than from “inside sources.”

He said the U.S. government will refrain from inviting Ma to visit Washington prior to his inauguration because such an invitation might set a precedent that could present unwanted consequences in the future. Washington will think that it is more appropriate for Ma to come to the United States when he goes on a foreign trip after inauguration and then makes a transit stop in America, Schriver said.

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