[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 20, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


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

 
                          LOOK AGAIN AT TAIWAN

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I am pleased the Senate adopted a 
resolution I introduced asking for reappraisal of our relationship with 
Taiwan.
  The irony is that we are going out of our way to please the People's 
Republic of China, which is a dictatorship, while thumbing our noses at 
Taiwan, which has a multiparty democracy and a free press.
  The New York Times had an excellent editorial on the Taiwan 
situation, and I ask that it be placed into the Record at the end of my 
remarks.
  I would urge my colleagues, as well as representatives of the 
administration, to look carefully at the Taiwan editorial, which makes 
so much sense.
  The editorial follows:

                          Look Again at Taiwan

       If buying $8 billion worth of American products entitles 
     China to flout President Clinton's human rights requirements 
     and still win renewal of its trade privileges, buying twice 
     that amount should entitle Taiwan to a little diplomatic 
     respect.
       Taiwan has one of Asia's most developed economies, best 
     armed militaries and most vibrant democracies. Yet Taiwan's 
     President is not allowed to stay overnight on American soil, 
     Taiwanese officials are not allowed to meet their U.S. 
     counterparts in government buildings and Taiwan's diplomatic 
     offices in this country cannot use any name that would 
     identify the country they represent.
       This charade reflects the long-held position of both Taipei 
     and Beijing that there is only one China and that it includes 
     both the mainland and Taiwan. Washington abided by this 
     fiction both before and after it switched U.S. recognition 
     from Nationalist Taiwan to the Communist mainland in 1979.
       But in reality two distinct societies, economies and 
     political systems have grown up on either side of the Taiwan 
     Straits. And despite its official ``one China policy,'' 
     Taipei now seeks diplomatic recognition as a separate 
     political entity.
       That has prompted the Clinton Administration to undertake a 
     cautious review of U.S. policy. The resulting recommendations 
     await White House approval. They would ease some of the more 
     humiliating diplomatic restrictions now in force. Cabinet-
     level visits in both directions would be permitted. Meetings 
     could take place on official premises. Taiwan's unofficial 
     representative offices could be renamed. These are useful 
     steps, meant to make it easier for Americans to do business 
     with the country's fifth-largest trading partner.
       But recognizing reality should not stop there. Taiwan is 
     too important a factor in East Asian politics, economics and 
     security to be left out of the new post-cold war order now 
     taking shape. It belongs in the new World Trade Organization. 
     It ought to be included in the Asean Regional Forum on 
     security being launched in Bangkok later this month. And 
     ideally, it should be admitted to the U.N.
       The main obstacle to Taiwan's inclusion in such 
     organizations is the bellicose opposition of mainland China, 
     which openly asserts the right to invade and annex Taiwan if 
     the Government there acts too independently. Beijing claims 
     that its relations with Taiwan are an internal matter to be 
     resolved by the two sides alone without outside involvement.
       It is not in America's interest to provoke China on this 
     score. But shutting Taiwan out of international forums also 
     carries risks for the U.S. Under present arrangements, if 
     China made good on its threats to attack, other Asian 
     countries would look the other way while the United States, 
     alone, would find itself caught in the middle of the fray.
       Last year, Washington helped arrange a compromise formula 
     that let Taiwan participate in the Asia-Pacific economic 
     summit meetings in Seattle. Now it should begin exploring 
     ways to involve Taiwan in the new regional security forum as 
     well.

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