[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 44 (Wednesday, April 20, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT

                                 ______


                         HON. THOMAS J. MANTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 1994

  Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to recognize 
the 15th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, America has had a dual 
relationship in the South China seas. We are all familiar with the 
population giant, the Peoples Republic of China, and the small, 
democratic nation that has become a world participant on a scale 
normally reserved for behemoths, the Republic of China on Taiwan. After 
the defeat of the democratic KMT Government and its escape to the 
island of Taiwan, America faced a difficult series of choices. We could 
not ignore our friends in Taiwan, yet we had to recognize the 
unrepresented masses on the mainland.
  This dual relationship of mainland and island took its final form 
with the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. This Act 
established a means for America to interact with the 21 million people 
of Taiwan, and thereby maintain a relationship that had stretched for 
more than four decades. The TRA has some rather unique aspects: it 
gives the Congress a well-defined statutory role in conducting United 
States foreign policy toward Taiwan. It calls for the President as well 
as the Congress to determine the nature of self-defense articles and 
services to be made available to Taiwan.
  Mr. Speaker, this puts the Congress in the driver's seat with regards 
to peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific region.
  We are aided in our quest for peace in the region by the able staff 
of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, the 
representative body established under the Taiwan Relations Act to 
conduct business with the Government of the United States. 
Representative Mou Shih Ding has done an excellent job in working to 
ensure the bonds between the United States and Taiwan continue to 
prosper.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the CCNAA, and am pleased 
that we have such a wonderful tool in the Taiwan Relations Act.

                          ____________________