From the Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, March 22, 2000

Chen Says He Hopes China Gains Entry to WTO

Says he wants the island and mainland to both gain entry into the WTO and improve cross-strait ties.

"In a gesture to Beijing and the Clinton administration, Taiwanese president-elect Chen Shui-bian said today he hopes to see China enter the World Trade Organization and to have normal trade relations with the United States.

'We would welcome the normalization of U.S.-China trade relations, just like we hope the cross-strait relations [between Taiwan and China] can also be normalized,' Chen said. 'We look forward to both the People's Republic of China's and Taiwan's accession to the WTO.'

Chen made these remarks during an hour-long exclusive interview with The Times, the first he has granted since his election Saturday as Taiwan's next president... Despite the friction between Taipei and Beijing on other issues, Taiwan has a strong but little-recognized economic interest in making sure that China has normal trade relations with the United States. Many Taiwanese companies manufacture on the Chinese mainland and export their products from China to the U.S. market."