While traveling in Asia earlier this week, Secretary of State Powell made remarks that suggested a major shift in American policy toward Taiwan. In an interview with CNN International, Mr. Powell cautioned against “unilateral action that would prejudice an eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking.” In another problematic statement, the secretary of state told an interviewer from Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV that “Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy.”

These comments were significant departures from American policy and almost as soon as they were made the State Department set about trying to retract them. Here is an excerpt from Monday’s daily press briefing at the State Department by the deputy spokesman, Adam Ereli.

Q: Secretary Powell, in interviews in Beijing, has said things on cross-Strait relations that have never been said before by the U.S. government… .Does this indicate any policy change? I know your policy remains the same, but you know, policy is described in words. When words change, so does the policy, doesn’t it?

MR. ERELI: The policy has not changed.

Declarations that policy hasn’t changed attract State Department reporters like blood in the water attracts sharks. So, despite statements by American officials “on background” suggesting no policy change was intended and the language would not be repeated, Mr. Ereli was forced to devote considerable time to trying to put the matter to rest. In doing so, he underscored just how far Mr. Powell had strayed from official American policy.

Q: …When the secretary uses words like ‘reunification,’ is that a contradiction there? Why does the secretary use such word as ‘reunification?’

MR. ERELI: I don’t think you should read into that any prejudging or hinting or departure from our long-standing position. …One element of our policy has been to favor a peaceful resolution of the cross-Straits issue through dialogue and through a resolution that is acceptable to both sides.

The claim that all parties seek reunification is more than a pre-judgement. It is a misstatement of fact. Taiwan’s people do not seek reunification. As Taiwan has democratized, its people increasingly consider themselves Taiwanese, rather than Chinese. Even the Nationalist party, which based its legitimacy for decades on a claim to mainland territory and unification, dropped that position in order to better appeal to voters.

For the United States, it would also be an enormous change in policy to endorse “reunification.” Washington has chosen a deliberately agnostic position about the resolution of the dispute over Taiwan, except to say that it must be peaceful and take into account the sentiments of people on both sides of the Strait.

For that reason, America has painstakingly chosen to neither support nor oppose Taiwan’s independence. If anything, it has worked to help lessen Taiwan’s isolation internationally, within the confines of the “one China” policy under which America denies Taiwan recognition. The U.S. does this, for example, by supporting Taiwan’s membership in international organizations, by maintaining unofficial diplomatic representation in Taipei, and by working to improve Taiwan’s armed forces and their ability to operate with American forces in the event of a crisis.

It is a Washington sport to speculate about whether, in episodes like this, an official is “freelancing,” i.e., trying out an unapproved policy. Or to wonder instead, wether it was an approved message, designed to send a signal to Taiwan’s president, Chen Shui-bian, by delivering a concession to Beijing?

U.S. policy has a long history of both. President Clinton made a statement damaging to Taiwan while he visited Shanghai in 1998. And of course, President Bush took a swipe at Mr. Chen with China’s premier Wen Jia-bao in the Oval Office last December, just before Taiwan’s presidential election.

The secretary’s remarks cannot be dismissed easily. What Mr. Powell said is divorced from reality. Taiwan is a democratic state facing a growing threat from a one-party dictatorship struggling to maintain its legitimacy. Mr. Ereli earned his salary on Monday. But it will take a statement from Mr. Powell to set the record straight about American policy.

Ms. Bork is deputy director of the Project for the New American Century.