"This is unfair. Taiwan and the U.S. share the same interests and we should build mutual trust. But Powell's talk has breached mutual trust," Chen said, according to the Taipei Times' top story Wednesday.
Chen made the remarks at a legislative meeting Tuesday, the paper said.
"We want to see both sides not take unilateral action that would prejudice an eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking," Powell said Monday in an interview with CNN.
He also said that Taiwan "does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation," a position that the paper said "touched quite a few nerves in Taiwan."
Chen referred to the secretary's words as "relatively heavy language," and said it was the first time for the United States to take such a position.
The United States, at China's insistence, has long supported the "one-China policy," but while to Beijing this implies the eventual reunification of Taiwan with China, Taipei has toyed with various options including independence under the name Taiwan.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International
