Washington -- The United States, in response to the latest round of "de-sinicizing" moves by the Taiwan authorities, reiterated its position on Friday that it does not support Taiwan independence.

The "de-sinicizing" moves include schemes to eliminate the words China or Chinese from company names.

"We do not support administrative steps by the Taiwan authorities that would appear to change Taiwan's status unilaterally or move toward independence. The United States does not, for instance, support changes in terminology for entities administered by the Taiwan authorities," said the State Department in a statement.

The statement reiterated that the United States does not support Taiwan independence.

The State Department also noted that Chen Shui-bian has repeatedly said he would not allow either inside or outside pressure to alter the pledges of "Four Noes" he made upon taking office in 2000, namely no declaration of Taiwan independence, no incorporation of the "two states" remarks into the "constitution," no change of the province's name and no referendum on "Taiwan Independence."

Whether Chen will fulfill his commitments will be "a test of leadership," the statement said.

Chen announced on February 8 that the Taiwan authorities will remove the words "China" or "Chinese" from the names of the island's "government-run" organizations, enterprises and relevant laws and regulations. The Taiwan authorities' new round of "de-sinicizing" moves have sparked a chorus of protests on the island.