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TAIPEI: Taiwan's president-elect Ma Ying-jeou on Monday renewed his vow of improving Taipei-US ties, which were frustrated by cross-strait tensions under the outgoing pro-independence government.
The leader of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), elected president in a landslide victory on Saturday, told Washington's de facto ambassador in Taipei that he hoped for better ties with the ally.
"I repeated what I had said during yesterday's press conference ... telling him that we want to restore the trust with the United States," Ma said after his private meeting with Stephen Young, Taipei office director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
"They are very concerned about cross-strait ties ... I told him we want to play the role of a peacemaker rather than a troublemaker," Ma told reporters, referring to his earlier pledge of forging a peace agreement with China to end hostilities.
US President George W. Bush has welcomed the victory of Ma as a "fresh opportunity" for Taiwan and China to peacefully resolve their differences.
Ma also said he would like to visit Washington before his May 20 inauguration.
Beijing, however, opposes any foreign visits by top government officials from Taiwan, which it sees as a part of its territory awaiting to be reunified by force if necessary.
Beijing unilaterally broke off scheduled rapprochement talks with Taipei in 1995 to protest the landmark visit to the United States by Taiwan's then president Lee Teng-hui, saying it was a move promoting independence.
Beijing has said it will reopen the dialogue only if its "one China principle" is accepted.
But the outgoing ruling Democratic Progressive Party had flatly rejected that, saying it would relegate Taiwan to a local government position under Beijing. - AFP/ac
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