House strongly supports Taiwan

Washington, 17 July 1998.

On 17 July 1998, a bipartisan group of 36 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a Resolution reaffirming U.S. commitment to Taiwan. The Resolution reiterated that the future of Taiwan should be determined by peaceful means, and added clauses on the principle of Taiwanese self-determination, and the right of Taiwan to join international organizations.

The Resolution was thus the second strong rebuke by Congress in a week of President Clinton's remarks regarding Taiwan, made during his trip to China. On 10 July 1998, the Senate passed a similar resolution by a 92-0 vote.

At a press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, 16 July, statements were made in support of the Resolution by Congressmen Tom Delay (R-TX), Vince Snowbarger (R-KS), Peter Deutsch (D-FL), Gerald Solomon (R-NY) and others.

Below is the full text of the resolution as it was introduced in the House.


HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 301

Affirming U.S. Commitments to Taiwan

(House - July 17, 1998)

Whereas at no time since the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, has Taiwan been under the control of the People's Republic of China;

Whereas the United States began its long, peaceful, friendly relationship with Taiwan in 1949;

Whereas since the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, the policy of the United States has been based on the expectation that the future relationship between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan would be determined by peaceful means;

Whereas in March 1996, the People's Republic of China held provocative military maneuvers, including missile launch exercises in the Taiwan Strait, in an attempt to intimidate the people of Taiwan during their historic, free and democratic presidential election;

Whereas officials of the People's Republic of China refuse to renounce the use of force against democratic Taiwan;

Whereas Taiwan has achieved significant political and economic strength as one of the world's premier democracies and as the 19th largest economy in the world;

Whereas Taiwan is the seventh largest trading partner of the United States and imports more than twice as much annually from the United States as does the People's Republic of China;

Whereas no treaties exist between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan that determine the future status of Taiwan: and

Whereas the President ignored a resolution that passed the House by a vote of 411-0 in June 1998 urging that he seek, during his recent summit in beijing, a public renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of force, or threat of use of force, against democratic Taiwan

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress--

  1. affirms its long standing commitment to Taiwan and the people of Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96-8);

  2. affirms its expectation, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means, and that the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait should determine their own future, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the principle of self-determination, and considers any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific and of grave concern to the United States;

  3. affirms its commitment, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, to make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services, including appropriate ballistic missle defenses, in such quantities as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability;

  4. affirms its commitment, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, that only the President and Congress shall determine the nature and quantity of defense articles and services for Taiwan based solely upon their judgment of the needs of Taiwan;

  5. urges the President of the United States to seek a public renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of force, or threat to use force, against democratic Taiwan; and
  6. affirms its strong support, in accordance with the spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act, of appropriate membership for Taiwan in international financial institutions and other international organizations.

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