Political Quotes

“as we were reminded yesterday, words matter in diplomacy. Wednesday morning, the President of the United States appeared on national television in an interview taped Tuesday night with Charles Gibson of ABC News. In that interview, the President was asked if the United States had an obligation to defend Taiwan if it was attacked by China. President Bush replied, ``Yes, we do, and the Chinese must understand that. Yes, I would.'' The interviewer pressed further, asking, ``With the full force of the American military?'' President Bush replied, ``Whatever it took to help Taiwan defend itself.'' He did not elaborate at that time. A few hours later, the President appeared to back off this startling new commitment, stressing in an interview on CNN that the United States would continue to abide by the Taiwan Relations Act and the One China policy followed by each of the past five Presidential Administrations. I want to make clear that I believe the security of Taiwan to be a vital interest of the United States. Senator Helms and I are among a handful of current members of the U.S. Senate who were around to vote for the Taiwan Relations Act when it was introduced 22 years ago. And I remain as committed today as I was then to the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question.”