[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6306-S6315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REGARDING THE VISIT BY PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
ON TAIWAN TO THE UNITED STATES
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now turn to
the consideration of Calendar No. 103, House Concurrent Resolution 53,
relative to the visit by the President of China on Taiwan, and that no
amendments be in order to the resolution or the preamble.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Chair hears none, and
it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 53) expressing the
sense of the Congress regarding a private visit by President
Lee Teng-hui of the Republic of China on Taiwan to the United
States.
The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair.
[[Page S6307]] Mr. President, I rise to speak in favor of House
Concurrent Resolution 53, which is a concurrent resolution expressing
the sense of the Congress that the President of the Republic of China
on Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui, be allowed to visit the United States. House
Concurrent Resolution 53 is almost identical to my concurrent
resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 9, which has 52 bipartisan
cosponsors, including both the majority and minority leaders, for which
I am most grateful. I ask unanimous consent the names of the cosponsors
of Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
Cosponsors of Senate Concurrent Resolution 9
Abraham (R-MI)
Akaka (D-HI)
Ashcroft (R-MO)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown, Hank (R-CO)
Burns (R-MT)
Campbell (R-CO)
Chafee (R-RI)
Coats (R-IN)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cohen (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coverdell (R-GA)
Craig (R-ID)
D'Amato (R-NY)
Daschle (D-SD)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-KS)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Faircloth (R-NC)
Feingold (D-WI)
Gorton (R-WA)
Grams (R-MN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hatfield (R-OR)
Helms (R-NC)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (R-VT)
Kassebaum (R-KS)
Kempthorne (R-ID)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lugar (R-IN)
Mack (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Nickles (R-OK)
Pell (R-RI)
Robb (D-VA)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Roth, William (R-DE)
Simon (D-IL)
Simpson (R-WY)
Smith (R-NH)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thompson (R-TN)
Thurmond (R-SC)
Warner (R-VA)
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 was
unanimously reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in
March of this year. That resolution specifically calls on President
Clinton to allow President Lee Teng-hui to come to the United States on
a private visit, and I wish to emphasize private. House Concurrent
Resolution 53 was submitted in the House by Congressmen Lantos,
Solomon, and Torricelli, and adopted by the House by a rollcall vote of
396 to zero last week.
Mr. President, the question is, Should we let the People's Republic
of China dictate who can visit the United States? The current State
Department policy of claiming that allowing President Lee to visit
would upset relations with the People's Republic of China officials
personally is offensive to this Senator.
Taiwan is a friend. They have made great strides toward American
goals--ending martial law, holding free and fair elections, allowing a
vocal press, and steadily improving human rights.
Taiwan is friendly, democratic, and prosperous. Taiwan is the 6th
largest trading partner of the United States, and the world's 13th
largest. The Taiwanese buy twice as much from the United States as from
the People's Republic of China. Taiwan has the largest foreign reserves
and contributes substantially to international causes.
Unfortunately, the United States continues to give the cold shoulder
to the leader of Taiwan. You will recall last May, we were embarrassed
when the State Department refused an overnight visit for President Lee,
who was in transit from Taiwan to Central America. His aircraft had to
stop for refueling in Hawaii and he would have preferred to stay
overnight before continuing on. Unfortunately, the State Department
continues to indicate that the administration will not look favorably
on a request for a private visit.
Mr. President, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are making
significant progress in relations between the two of them. I call my
colleagues' attention to the existence of an organization known as the
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. That organization
operates in Beijing. The counter to that is the Mainland Affairs
Council in Taiwan. These two groups get together regularly. They talk
about everything conceivable except the political differences between
the two countries. That conversation includes such things as hijacking;
it also includes such things as eliminating the necessity of goods from
Taiwan having to go through Hong Kong before they can come into the
People's Republic of China. They are addressing now the direct shipment
of goods from Taiwan to the mainland of China.
So here we have evidence that there is this dialog based on trade and
commerce, but still the United States is afraid to take steps to
encourage our trade and commerce with Taiwan because of the objections
from the People's Republic of China.
Now, we know that the People's Republic of China will object to a
visit by President Lee because the People's Republic of China complains
loudly about many United States initiatives such as United States
pressure at the United Nations with regard to China's human rights
practices, criteria for China's World Trade Organization membership,
and anything we do to help Taiwan. But in the end, the People's
Republic of China Government makes a calculation about when to risk its
access to the United States and our market. And I think we should make
the same calculation.
The precedent does exist, my colleagues, for a visit by President
Lee. The administration has welcomed other unofficial leaders to the
United States--the Dalai Lama called on Vice President Gore, over the
People's Republic of China's objections, I might add. Yasser Arafat
came to a White House ceremony. Gerry Adams has been granted numerous
visits over Britain's objections.
In these cases, the administration I think has made the correct
choice to allow visits to advance American goals, and President Lee's
visit would do the same thing. The USA-ROC Economic Council Conference
is going to be held in Anchorage, AK, in September. Visiting Alaska
would not be a political statement, by any means. We consider
ourselves, as my Alaskan colleague Senator Stevens often remarks,
almost another country. President Lee's alma mater, Cornell University
in New York, would like him to visit in June to give a speech. It is
completely a private matter. It is not a matter of a state visit.
I have heard suggestions that the Special Olympics, which will be
held in Connecticut, might extend an invitation to President Lee, as
well.
So I would call on my colleagues to vote to send a strong signal to
the administration that President Lee should be allowed to make a
private--and I emphasize ``private''--visit. I call on the
administration to change the policy because it is simply the right
thing to do and it is the right time to do it.
If the administration does not change the policy based on this
resolution, I think they are going to face binding legislation that
would force the President to allow the visit. The administration should
act before facing such a situation.
Mr. President, it is my intention to ask for the yeas and nays on
this resolution.
I also ask unanimous consent that editorials from cities around the
country supporting the Lee visit be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the editorials were ordered to be printed
in the Record, as follows:
[From the Boston Globe, Apr. 17, 1995]
A Snub for Taiwan's Democrats
Taiwan's president, an alumnus of Cornell, wants to address
his alma mater this June. But a visit to the United States by
Lee Teng-hui is something that will not happen, says the
assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs.
This pusillanimous attitude ought to change, both for
reasons of courtesy and as a sign the United States applauds
Lee's work in moving Taiwan toward full democracy.
[[Page S6308]] The United States has a vital interest in
the sustenance of democratic governments in Asia.
At issue is the two-China question, one that has vexed US
policy makers since Mao Zedong's Communists took over all of
China except the island of Taiwan in 1949. For a generation,
The United States erred in ignoring the Communist reality; it
should not now denigrate the success of Taiwan.
While the mainland was enduring the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution, the people of Taiwan were laying the
groundwork for an economic boom. As Beijing cracked down on
dissidents, the Nationalists on Taiwan were opening up their
regime. Last December an opposition leader was elected mayor
of Taipei, the capital.
While acknowledging these achievements, Assistant Secretary
of State Winston Lord said last year that the United States
should do nothing that Beijing would perceive as lending
``officiality'' to US relations with Taiwan. This fear of
offending Beijing explains why Lee was denied permission to
visit Cornell last June and why Lord implied he should not
bother to apply for a visa this year.
When thousands of Taiwanese regularly come to the United
States, it is inconsistent to prohibit a private visit by
Lee. Moreover, it compounds the insulting treatment he
received last year when he was denied permission to spend the
night in Honolulu while en route to Latin America. As an
alumnus of an American university, he has ties to the United
States that transcend politics.
Cornell wants Lee to give a speech at reunion weekend, Lord
says Taiwan ``has shown that political openness must
accompany political reform and that Asians value freedom as
much as other people around the globe.'' That message ought
to be heard by university alumni and a billion Chinese.
____
[From the Providence Sunday Journal, Mar. 19, 1995]
Dishonorable Diplomacy
Lee Teng-hui came to the United States as a foreign student
and earned his Ph.D. in 1968 from Cornell University, one of
the nation's premier institutions. His thesis was cited as
the year's best dissertation by the American Association of
Agricultural Economics. After returning home, he had an
eventful career, topped off in 1990 by being elected
president of his native land, one of America's oldest and
most loyal Asian allies.
To honor Mr. Lee, Cornell officials have invited him to
participate in a three-day alumni reunion at the campus in
Ithaca, N.Y., in June, when he is scheduled to deliver the
school's prestigious Olin Lecture.
A heartwarming story. But there's one big problem:
President Clinton may bar Mr. Lee from visiting Cornell.
Why? Because Mr. Lee is the president of Taiwan, and the
Clinton administration fears that the Communist regime of the
Chinese mainland will be offended if he is allowed to come to
America. It's as simple--and as outrageous--as that.
Now, we can understand why officials in Beijing wouldn't
want Mr. Lee to visit this country and receive the honors.
They hate and fear him and what he stands for because his
regime has put the Communists and all their works to shame.
He heads a rival Chinese government that, by following
largely market-oriented policies, has spearheaded the
relatively small (population: 20 million) island of Taiwan's
rise as a major player on the world's economic scene.
Meanwhile, the Communists--by following the bizarre schemes
of the ``Great Helmsman,'' the late Mao Tse-tung--crippled
mainland China's economic development (until, in recent
years, they finally started to move away from Marxist
follies).
Furthermore, the regime on Taiwan is rapidly democratizing
itself, allowing the presence of an active opposition party,
which has won a strong minority of seats in the legislature.
In this regard, it ought to be emphasized that Mr. Lee is the
freely elected president of Taiwan. Whereas the Communists
now ruling in Beijing--while admittedly not as bad as the
mass murderer, Mao Tse-tung--cling to their dictatorial
power: no opposition parties, no freedom of speech or press,
no free elections. And, of course, no freely elected
presidents.
Which gets us back to Mr. Lee. President Clinton, a Rhodes
Scholar, is a clever fellow. And he has available to him some
very high-priced legal talent, as well as numerous figures--
in and out of the State Department--with considerable
experience and skill in the diplomatic arts. President
Clinton should be able to figure out an adroit way to allow
Mr. Lee to make what is essentially a private visit to
Cornell and receive his well-deserved honors.
If the Communists in Beijing want to fuss and fume, let
them. They may no longer be our enemies, but they are most
assuredly not yet our friends. Mr. Lee, on the other hand,
represents a brave people who have been our friends and
allies for more than four decades. If Mr. Clinton bars Mr.
Lee from coming here, he would dishonor not only himself,
which would be his business, but the entire United States as
well, and the American people should not stand for that.
____
[From the Washington Times, Apr. 9, 1995]
Unwelcome Mat for Our Friends
(By Arnold Beichman)
There is every possibility that President Lee Teng-hui of
Taiwan may one day be allowed to enter the United States just
like Yasser Arafat and Gerry Adams, onetime terrorists, and
other statesmen as distinguished as the head of the Palestine
Liberation Organization or the leader of Sinn Fein who have
been allowed to do so.
The possibility of a visit by the elected president of
Asia's island democracy has arisen because the House of
Representatives International Relations Committee has urged
President Clinton to allow Mr. Lee to enter the United
States. Mr. Lee has been invited to attend graduation
exercises at his alma mater, Cornell University.
The House panel didn't ask President Clinton personally to
receive President Lee. How could it? After all, the
appointments schedule of the president of the United States
is controlled by the Politburo of the Chinese Communist
Party, which decides what Chinese the president may or may
not receive. So all the House panel asked Mr. Clinton to do
is to allow President Lee to visit--that's it, nothing more--
just visit the United States. If Mr. Clinton turns down that
request will that mean the Chinese Politburo controls our
Immigration and Naturalization Service, too? Perhaps Mr.
Clinton could ask the Chinese Politburo to do something about
illegal immigration.
It isn't the first time that the appointments schedule of
the president of the United States was under the control of a
foreign communist power. In 1975, President Ford declined to
receive Alexander Solzhenitsyn since such an act of
hospitality and respect for human rights would have offended
the Soviet Politburo. Or so Secretary of State Kissinger
believed. After his election defeat in 1976, Mr. Ford
confessed that he had erred in barring the great Russian
dissident from the White House.
The power of the Chinese Communist Politburo extends not
only to which Chinese can visit the United States but it also
determines who can overnight on our soil. Last year, Mr. Lee
was barred from overnighting in Honolulu lest such a simple
act enrage the Beijing gerontocrats. However, it's quite all
right to enrage the British government and Prime Minister
John Major in receiving Gerry Adams and allowing him to
engage in dubious fund raising.
What presidents and their advisers do not understand is
that the reaction of totalitarians to American policy depends
less on a given American action than it does on the party's
long-range view. It didn't matter to Josef Stalin that Adolf
Hitler inveighed against the Soviet Union or communism. When
it suited Stalin's needs, he signed a Nazi-Soviet pact in
August 1939. And when it suited Hitler, he attacked the
U.S.S.R. despite the Nazi-Soviet Pact. President Nixon
ordered the bombing of North Vietnam while he was in Moscow.
The Soviet Politburo didn't order Mr. Nixon out of the Soviet
Union to show its displeasure. Moscow negotiated with the
United States despite the bombing of its military ally, North
Vietnam.
Whenever it suits Beijing to violate its agreements with
the United States, it will. Whenever it suits Beijing to lose
its temper with Mr. Clinton, it will--regardless of
protestations of past friendship.
For the United States to continue to treat Taiwan as an
outcast nation as it has for a quarter-century because of the
Communist Politburo is a sign of weakness that will not be
lost on Deng Xiao-ping's successors. After all, Taiwan's
democratic credentials are of the highest. Its market economy
has propelled Taiwan--remember this is a country with a
population of but 21 million--into the 13th largest trading
nation in the world. Taiwan enjoys a rule of law. It
recognizes property rights. There is a legal opposition and a
free press.
If we continue to treat a friendly people, a friendly
government and its chosen representatives as nonpersons at a
time when we would like to see a world of democracies and
when to further that course we have even sent troops
overseas, as we did to Haiti, isn't it time--at the very
least!--to tell the Beijing totalitarians that the president
of Taiwan can overnight on American soil anytime he wants to?
And, perhaps, even stay for two nights?
____
[From the Washington Post, Mar. 31, 1995]
Kowtow--The State Department's Bow to Beijing
(By Lorna Hahn)
Lee Teng-hui, president of the Republic of China on Taiwan,
wishes to accept an honorary degree from Cornell University,
where he earned his PhD in agronomy.
Last year, when Cornell made the same offer, Lee was
refused entry into the United States because Beijing
belligerently reminded the State Department that granting a
visa to a Taiwanese leader would violate the principle of
``One China'' (Cornell subsequently sent an emissary to
Taipei for a substitute ceremony.) This year, on Feb. 9,
Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord told a
congressional hearing that our government ``will not reverse
the policies of six administrations of both parties.''
It is high time it did. The old policy was adopted at a
time when China and Taiwan were enemies, Taiwan's government
claimed to represent all of China, and Beijing's leaders
would never dream of meeting cordially with their
counterparts from Taipei. Today, things are very different.
[[Page S6309]] Upon assuming office in 1988, Lee dropped
all pretense of ever reconquering the mainland and granted
that the Communists do indeed control it. Since then, he has
eased tensions and promoted cooperation with the People's
Republic of China through the Lee Doctrine, the pragmatic,
flexible approach through which he (1) acts independently
without declaring independence, which would provoke Chinese
wrath and perhaps an invasion; (2) openly recognizes the PRC
government and its achievements and asks that it reciprocate,
and (3) seeks to expand Taiwan's role in the world while
assuring Beijing that he is doing so as a fellow Chinese who
has their interests at heart as well.
Lee claims to share Beijing's dream of eventual
reunification--provided it is within a democratic, free-
market system. Meanwhile, he wants the PRC--and the world--to
accept the obvious fact that China has since 1949 been a
divided country, like Korea, and that Beijing has never
governed or represented Taiwan's people. Both governments, he
believes, should be represented abroad while forging ties
that could lead to unity.
To this end he has fostered massive investments in the
mainland, promoted extensive and frequent business, cultural,
educational and other exchanges, and offered to meet
personally with PRC President Jiang Zemin to discuss further
cooperation. His policies are so well appreciated in
Beijing--which fears the growing strength of Taiwan's pro-
independence movement--that Jiang recently delivered a highly
conciliatory speech to the Taiwanese people in which he
suggested that their leaders exchange visits.
If China's leaders are willing to welcome Taiwan's
president to Beijing, why did their foreign ministry on March
9, once again warn that ``we are opposed to Lee Teng-hui
visiting the United States in any form''? Because Beijing
considers the ``Taiwan question'' to be an ``internal
affair'' in which, it claims, the United States would be
meddling if it granted Lee a visa.
But Lee does not wish to come here in order to discuss the
``Taiwan question'' or other political matters, and he does
not seek to meet with any American officials. He simply
wishes to accept an honor from a private American
institution, and perhaps discuss with fellow Cornell alumni
the factors that have contributed to Taiwan's--and China's--
outstanding economic success.
President Clinton has yet to make the final decision
regarding Lee's visit. As Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-Conn.)
recently stated: ``It seems to me illogical not to allow
President Lee on a private basis to go back to his alma
mater.'' As his colleague Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) added:
``It is embarrassing for many of us to think that, after
encouraging the people and government on Taiwan to
democratize, which they have, [we forbid President Lee] to
return to the United States . . . to receive an honorary
degree.''
____
[From the Wall Street Journal, Mar. 15, 1995]
Two Visitors
Gerry Adams can tour the United States, but Lee Teng-hui
can't. Gerry Adams will be feted and celebrated Friday at the
White House, but when Lee Teng-hui's plane landed in Honolulu
last year, the U.S. government told him to gas up and get
out. The Gerry Adams who is being treated like a head of
state by the Clinton Administration is the leader of Sinn
Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army. The Lee
Teng-hui who has been treated like an international pariah by
the Administration is the democratically elected President of
the Republic of China, or Taiwan. The disparate treatment of
these two men tells an awful lot about the politics and
instincts of the Clinton presidency.
Gerry Adams's face will be all over the news for his Saint
Paddy's Day party with Bill O'Clinton at the White House, so
we'll start with the background on the less-publicized
President of Taiwan.
Cornell University has invited President Lee to come to the
school's Ithaca, N.Y., campus this June to address and attend
an alumni reunion. In 1968, Mr. Lee received his doctorate in
agricultural economics from Cornell. The following year, the
American Association of Agricultural Economics gave Mr. Lee's
doctoral dissertation, on the sources of Taiwan's growth, its
highest honor. In 1990, Taiwan's voters freely elected Mr.
Lee as their President. He has moved forcefully to liberalize
Taiwan's political system, arresting corrupt members of his
own party. Last year, the Asian Wall Street Journal
editorialized: ``Out of nothing, Taiwan's people have created
an economic superpower relative to its population, as well as
Asia's most rambunctious democracy and a model for neighbors
who are bent on shedding authoritarian ways.''
Asked last month about President Lee's visit to Ithaca,
Secretary of State Christopher, who professes to wanting
closer links with Taiwan, said that ``under the present
circumstances'' he couldn't see it happening. The
Administration doesn't want to rile its relationship with
Beijing. The Communist Chinese don't recognize Taiwan and
threaten all manner of retaliation against anyone who even
thinks about doing so. That includes a speech to agricultural
economists in upstate New York. This, Secretary Christopher
testified, is a ``difficult issue.''
Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams, meanwhile, gets the red carpet
treatment at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Mr. Adams assures his
American audiences that the IRA is out of the business of
blowing body parts across the streets of London. He promises
the doubters that if people give him money, it won't be used
to buy more guns, bullets and bombs for the high-strung lads
of the IRA.
Now before the Irish American communities of Queens and
Boston get too roiled over our skepticism toward Northern
Ireland's most famous altar boy, we suggest they take their
grievances to John Bruton, who is Irish enough to be the
Prime Minister of Ireland. He, too, will be at Bill Clinton's
St. Patrick's Day party for Gerry Adams, and he has a message
for the two statesmen: The IRA has to give up its arms.
``This is an item on the agenda that must be dealt with,''
Premier Bruton said Monday in Dublin. ``It's a very serious
matter. There are genuine fears felt by members of the
community that have been at the receiving end of the
violence.''
We don't at all doubt that somewhere amid the Friday
merriment, Mr. Clinton will ask Mr. Adams to give up the guns
and that Mr. Adams will tell the President that is surely the
IRA's intent, all other matters being equal.
It is hard to know precisely what motivates Mr. Clinton to
lionize a Gerry Adams and snub a Lee Teng-hui. The deference
to China doesn't fully wash, because when Britain--our former
ally in several huge wars this century--expressed its
displeasure over the Adams meeting, the White House
essentially told the Brits to lump it. Perhaps the end of the
Cold War has liberated liberal heads of state into a state of
light-headedness about such matters. We note also this week
that France's President Francois Mitterrand has been
entertaining Fidel Castro at the Elysees Palace.
But it's still said that Bill Clinton has a great sense of
self-preservation. So if he's willing to personally embrace
Gerry Adams while stiffing the Prime Minister of England and
forbidding the President of Taiwan to spend three days with
his classmates in Ithaca, there must be something in it
somewhere for him.
____
[From the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Apr. 22, 1995]
Let Lee Visit
Eleven months after Communist China's old tyrants loosed
the tanks on pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square,
Taiwan's new president, Lee Teng-Hui, released several
political prisoners--the first step in his rapid march to
democratizing ``the other China.'' Now guess who--the despots
or the democrat--is being banned from setting foot in the
Land of the Free.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher drones that to grant
Lee a visa to address his alma mater, Cornell University, in
June would be ``inconsistent with the unofficial character of
our relationship'' with Taiwan.
That relationship dates from 1979, when Jimmy Carter
severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan to stroke Beijing, which
views the island nation as a rebellious province. Presumably,
the red carpet remains out for the massacre artists whose
sensibilities Christopher cossets.
Not everyone in Washington abides this outrage against a
country making strides toward real political pluralism and
free-market economics. The House Committee on International
Relations, burying partisanship, recently voted 33-0 in moral
support of Lee's visit. (The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee backed a similar resolution in March.)
With more bite, Rep. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) has
introduced legislation that would compel the State Department
to issue visas to democratically elected Taiwanese leaders.
Meanwhile, Cornell president Frank Rhodes says Lee's return
to campus ``would offer an extraordinary educational
opportunity.''
The administration's posture--stubborn pusillanimity--is
odd. Lee's visit clearly would not be a state-to-state
affair. If Communist China's leaders sulked anyway, so what?
How would they retaliate? Give their tank commanders
directions to California? Refuse to sell us the $31.5 billion
in goods they exported to the United States in 1994?
Congress should reaffirm America's welcome to democracy's
friends by quickly passing the Torricelli bill; as for the
administration, its Christopher is obviously no patron saint
to all travelers.
____
[From the Durham Herald-Sun, Apr. 20, 1995]
Taiwan President; Sorry, You Can't Talk Here
For a country that beats its chest about freedom of speech,
we're setting a very hypocritical example in the case of Lee
Teng-Hui, the president of Taiwan. He wants to come back to
Cornell University, his alma mater, to give a speech.
No way, says the Clinton administration, which argues that
mainland China is the one and only China. Presumably that
leaves Taiwan, at least in Washington's eyes, as pretty much
what Beijing says it is: a rebellious province.
Rebellious or not, at least Taiwan is moving toward a more
open and democratic society than the mainland. Yet Lee is
being denied a visa for his Cornell visit because, in the
words of Secretary of State Warren Christopher, it would be
``inconsistent with the unofficial character'' of this
country's relationship with Taiwan. The United States
recognized Taiwan as the legitimate government of China until
1979, when then President Jimmy Carter decided that ties with
the mainland regime were more vital to the interests of the
United States.
In the long shadow of history, Carter's decision is likely
to win favor as the correct
[[Page S6310]] one. But that doesn't mean we ought to slam
the door on the elected leader of Taiwan just because the
gerontocracy in Beijing might get a case of political
heartburn. These fellows are, after all, the very officials
who turned the Chinese army loose in Tiananmen Square.
In any case, Lee's visit to Cornell would not be a pomp-
and-circumstance state visit, but rather a low-visibility
affair. The House Committee on International Relations knew
that when it voted 33-0 on a resolution backing Lee's visit.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee also adopted a
resolution in favor of Lee. In addition, Frank Rhodes, the
president of Cornell, has spoken up for Lee.
Rep. Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, is so
incensed by the administration's deliberate snub of Lee that
he has introduced a bill in the House that would mandate the
State Department to issue a visa to Lee or any other freely
elected official from Taiwan.
Good. If the State Department won't let Lee into the
motherland of the First Amendment, then Congress ought to see
to it that he gets a visa. As for the State Department, it
could use some sensitivity training in good manners.
____
[From the Washington Times, May 2, 1995]
A Matter of Honors Due a Staunch Friend
(By James Hackett)
After two years of insulting America's friends and allies
while accommodating America's enemies, the Clinton
Administration finally has hit bottom. The matter involves
Lee Teng-hui, president of the Republic of China on Taiwan,
who has been invited by Cornell University to receive an
honored alumnus award at ceremonies at Ithaca, N.Y., in early
June. Mr. Lee received his Ph.D. at Cornell and wants to
accept the honor bestowed by his alma mater.
President Lee is a native of Taiwan and the first popularly
elected president of a country that long has been a close
friend and ally of the United States. But incredibly, the
State Department will not allow Mr. Lee to visit the United
States, even for such an unofficial purpose, lest it annoy
the communist rulers on the mainland.
The State Department's China hands, with the approval of
the Clinton White House, are trying hard to accommodate the
wishes of the government in Beijing. Last year, Mr. Lee and
his minister for economic affairs were denied permission to
attend an Asian economic summit in Seattle, despite Taiwan's
status as an Asian economic powerhouse that buys more than
twice as much from the United States as mainland China.
The worst insult to Taiwan, however, was a disgraceful
episode last May when Mr. Lee was denied permission to stay
overnight in Honolulu after his plane stopped there to
refuel. The State Department is following a policy of no
overnight stays on U.S. soil for senior Taiwan officials,
treatment more appropriate for criminals than for friends and
allies.
In contrast, the administration is eager to please the
regime in Beijing, a government that continues to test
nuclear weapons while developing a whole new series of
ballistic missiles, including some that can carry nuclear
weapons anywhere in Asia and even across the Pacific. China
also is buying frontline Russian SU-27 combat aircraft,
Russian Kilo-class submarines, and other equipment under a
major military modernization program. This Chinese
development of power projection capabilities is a direct
threat to Taiwan and the other democracies of Asia.
China's military buildup is being achieved even as the
communist regime continues to suppress human rights, commits
systematic genocide in Tibet, confronts its neighbors with
claims on oil deposits and islands in the South China Sea,
and threatens to invade Taiwan if that democracy declares its
independence. Yet the Clinton administration wants close
relations with the Chinese military and is eager to sell
China high-speed computers and other advanced technologies
that have significant military applications. Last October,
Mr. Clinton sent Defense Secretary William Perry to Beijing
to cement relations with the Chinese army, and Mr. Perry
wound up toasting the commanders who crushed the democracy
uprising.
Policy toward Taiwan, however, continues to be shaped by
the Shanghai Communique that was signed before the Tiananmen
Square uprising, which requires the United States gradually
to decrease the quality and quantity of military equipment
sold to Taiwan. Consequently, even the F-16A/B aircraft that
President Bush approved for sale to Taiwan just before the
1992 election are the oldest models of that fighter, inferior
even to the model being sold to Saudi Arabia.
As China builds up its offensive military force, the United
States must help Taiwan defend itself. Congress should
disavow the ill-considered Shanghai Communique and press Mr.
Clinton to sell first-line military equipment, including the
best available air, sea, and missile defenses, to our friends
on Taiwan.
Members of Congress of both parties are increasingly
unhappy with Mr. Clinton's China policy and irate at the
treatment of Taiwan's President Lee. The House International
Relations Committee approved by a vote of 33-0 a resolution
calling on Mr. Clinton to welcome President Lee to visit
Cornell University, and to allow him to attend a planned
meeting of the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Council in Anchorage,
Alaska. But the administration has ignored this unanimous
bipartisan congressional resolution.
If President Lee is denied permission to receive his honors
at Cornell, the Clinton administration's lack of principle
will have dragged this country to a new low. The House is
expected to bring this issue to a floor vote today to demand
prompt approval of a visa for Mr. Lee and the restoration of
common decency to our relations with Taiwan. The Senate
should quickly follow suit.
____
[From the Rocky Mountain News, Apr. 19, 1995]
Odd Way To Reward a Friend
Eleven months after Communist China's old tyrants loosed
the tanks on pro-democracy students in Tianamen Square,
Taiwan's new president, Lee Teng-Hui, released several
political prisoners--the first step in his rapid march to
democratizing ``the other China.'' Now guess who--the despots
or the democrat--is being banned from setting foot in the
Land of the Free. Secretary of State Warren Christopher
drones that to grant Lee a visa to address his alma mater,
Cornell University, in June would be ``inconsistent with the
unofficial character of our relationship'' with Taiwan. That
relationship dates from 1979 when Jimmy Carter severed
diplomatic ties with Taiwan to stroke Beijing, which views
the island-nation as a rebellious province. Presumably, the
red carpet remains out for the architects of the Tianamen
massacre whose sensibilities Christopher cossets.
Not everyone is Washington abides this outrage against a
country making strides toward real political pluralism and
free-market economics. The House Committee on International
Relations, burying partisanship, recently voted 33-0 in moral
support of President Lee's visit. (The Senate Foreign
Relations Committee backed a similar resolution in March.)
With more bite, Rep. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., has
introduced legislation that would compel the State Department
to issue visas to democratically elected Taiwanese leaders.
Meanwhile, Cornell president Frank Rhodes says Lee's return
to campus ``would offer an extraordinary educational
opportunity.''
The administration's posture--stubborn pusillanimity--is
odd. Lee's visit clearly would not be a state-to-state
affair. If Communist China's leaders sulked anyway, so what?
How would they retaliate? Give their tank commanders
directions to California? Refuse to sell us the $31.5 billion
in goods they exported to the United States in 1994?
Congress should reaffirm America's welcome to democracy's
friends by quickly passing the Torricelli bill; as for the
administration, its Christopher is obviously no patron saint
to all travelers.
____
[From the Seattle Times, Feb. 11, 1995]
The Wrong China Policy
President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan has again been denied
entry into this country and it's time once again to ask the
simple question: Why?
Lee is the democratically elected leader of the 22 million
Chinese on Taiwan who form an economy that is one of
America's most vigorous trading partners. He has a Ph.D. from
Cornell University in upstate New York, something one would
wish more foreign leaders possessed.
Cornell wants to offer this distinguished graduate an
honorary degree. The Clinton administration, following the
policy of previous administrations, says Lee can't come back
to this country. The reason is that the mainland Chinese
would be offended.
That policy is inexplicable. Essentially, the U.S. is
allowing mainland China to dictate the terms of our relations
with one of our best trading partners. Lee's policies and
economy is far more admirable than the mainland's, but we
keep him at arm's length. At the minimum, Lee should be
allowed to visit his alma mater. An official visit to
Washington, D.C. is not a bad idea, either.
____
[From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sept. 26, 1994]
Tale of Two Nations
The Clinton administration is committing hundreds of
millions of dollars, and potentially the lives of many
American military personnel, to the ``restoration'' of
democracy in Haiti. If that third-rate nation's brutal
politicians and policemen suspend their practice of murdering
their critics and oppressing the populace, the United States
may reward the country with generous economic aid for years
to come. And, of course, its diplomats will continue to
receive invitations to White House soirees.
Meanwhile, how does the Clinton administration reward an
old American ally that is democratizing by choice, that has
established a commendable record on human rights, that has
embraced the free enterprise system, and that does enough
business with the United States to support more than 300,000
American jobs? By throwing it a few crumbs and telling it to
keep its officials away from the White House and the State
Department.
That about explains the Clinton administration's new and
supposedly improved policy on the Republic of China on
Taiwan. The President has condescendingly allowed Taiwan to
rename its unofficial mission here from ``The Coordination
Council for North American Affairs'' to ``The Taipei Economic
and Cultural Representative's Office in the
[[Page S6311]] United States,'' which more clearly
described the mission's function.
He also has removed the ban on direct contacts between
American economic and technical officials of non-Cabinet rank
and Taiwanese government officials in Taipei, but Taiwanese
officials stationed in the United States will not be
permitted to visit the State Department. And the President
may support Taiwan's membership in certain international
organizations, such as those concerned with trade, when he
can do so without implying diplomatic recognition of that
country.
In other words, Taiwan is to remain a diplomatic pariah
whose president is not even permitted to land on American
soil long enough to play a round of golf.
Taiwan deserves better treatment. It is the United States'
sixth-largest trading partner. It stood shoulder to shoulder
with the United States during the darkest and most dangerous
phases of the Cold War. It has used the United States as a
model in building its economic and political structures.
Voluntarily and enthusiastically, it is developing exactly
the kind of democracy that the United States advocates.
The United States withdrew diplomatic recognition from
Taiwan during the Carter administration, and denies it still,
in an effort to cultivate the friendship of mainland
Communist China, which asserts sovereignty over Taiwan and
vows to reclaim that island someday. Taiwan is also committed
to eventual reunification. The two countries have developed
important commercial ties in recent years, but they are far
from agreement on the terms for merging politically into a
new united China.
Strong arguments based on both principle and political
reality can be made against the United States' eagerness to
appease Communist China at the expense of an old American
friend. Tomorrow Senator Robb will convene a hearing of his
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs to review the
administration's China policies. The exchange promises to be
vigorous.
Democratic Senator Paul Simon of Illinois considers it
wrong as a matter of principle for the United States to
disdain a country that has ``a multi-party system, free
elections, and a free press--the things we profess to
champion--while we continue to cuddle up to the mainland
government whose dictatorship permits none of those.''
Heritage Foundation China analyst Brett Lippencott suggests
that by developing closer ties to Taiwan the United States
could promote the reunification of China. The reason,
essentially, is that the failure to enhance Taiwan's
``international status could weaken those in Taiwan who favor
eventual reunification . . . and strengthen those who seek an
independent Taiwan.''
Obviously, the actual existence of two Chinas creates a
difficult and delicate problem for the United States. But in
dealing with it, our leaders should occasionally do what is
right instead of always doing what they think will please the
tyrannical rulers of the world's last remaining major
Communist stronghold.
____
[From the Dallas Morning News, Sept. 27, 1994]
Taiwan--Senate Should Urge Greater White House Support
For the second consecutive year, Taiwan's bid for
membership in the United Nations has been thwarted. But
however many ``no'' votes may have been cast against Taiwan
at the U.N., the island democracy off the coast of mainland
China deserves far better treatment from the Clinton
administration.
Last week's anti-Taiwan vote by the 28-member General
Assembly steering committee was hardly surprising. Because
Communist China considers Taiwan to be a ``renegade
province,'' China has waged an ongoing and heavy-handed
campaign against Taiwan since 1949.
As relations have warmed between the United States and
China, U.S.-Taiwan relations have suffered. U.S. policy
continues to be based on the traditional formula that says,
``There is only one China, and Taiwan is a part of China.''
To be sure, President Clinton attempted to boost economic and
commercial ties with Taiwan earlier this month by calling for
more high-level visits. He is putting special emphasis on
those relating to technical and economic issues. But that's
insufficient.
Today may be another milestone in the evolution of U.S.-
Taiwan relations. The Clinton administration's new Taiwan
policy is scheduled to be examined by the East Asian and
Pacific affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. As Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois has pointed out,
the first thing the Senate should note is that Taiwan
features a multi-party system, free elections and a free
press. He's right.
Earlier this year, President Clinton said in his State of
the Union message that ``the best strategy to ensure our
security and to build a durable peace is to support the
advance of democracy elsewhere.'' The East Asian and Pacific
affairs subcommittee chairman, Charles Robb of Virginia,
should recite those words in his hearing room today.
Taiwan is the perfect place for the Clinton administration
to translate words into action. The way to do that is by
giving Taiwan greater recognition for its democratic
advances.
____
[From the Boston Herald, Mar. 18, 1995]
Let Taiwan President Visit
President Clinton's China policy (essentially, give Beijing
whatever it wants) is about to be challenged over his
snubbing of Taiwan.
Cornell University has invited one of its graduates to
address an alumni reunion in June. He is Lee Teng-hui, who
received a doctorate in agricultural economics from Cornell
in 1968. He is president of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
Since 1979, Washington has taken the position that the
Communist government in Beijing, one of the most repressive
on earth, is the exclusive representative of the Chinese
people. Taiwan is a democracy and one of our largest trading
partners.
To placate the People's Republic, the president of Taiwan
isn't allowed to visit the United States, even in an
unofficial capacity. Last May, when Lee stopped in Honolulu
en route to Costa Rica, the State Department generously
offered to permit him to enter the airport, provided he
remain in quarantine. Lee chose to stay on his plane.
Why the administration must allow Beijing to jerk its
strings is a mystery. The regime is not the least cooperative
on human rights or trade.
Congressional Republicans are threatening to revolt. Sen.
Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) has 35 co-sponsors on a resolution
calling on the administration to allow Lee to visit Cornell.
If the resolution is ignored, Murkowski is threatening to
reopen the issue of U.S. relations with Taiwan.
This is a fight the president doesn't need. Beijing may
bluster but ultimately will do nothing. The world won't come
to an end if one of Cornell's more distinguished alumni
visits his alma mater.
____
[From the Tampa Tribune, Mar. 26, 1996]
Why Treat Taiwan Like Dirt?
Standing up for what you believe is not always easy in
international affairs, and President Clinton probably wishes
people wouldn't force him into areas of diplomacy where he is
so uncomfortable.
But it's happening again. Pesky Cornell University is
inviting one of its graduates, Taiwan's President Lee Teng-
Hui, to give a speech there in June. So President Clinton
must decide whether to allow the visit, sure to anger
mainland China, or to continue the policy of pretending
Taiwan's top leaders have the plague.
Helping keep the issue in the public eye is a proposed
Senate resolution, sponsored by Frank Murkowski of Alaska and
co-sponsored by Sen. Connie Mack of Florida and 34 others.
Each of the many ``whereas'' paragraphs in the resolution
contains a bit of information sure to make the President
twitch. Taiwan is the United States' sixth-largest trading
partner; it supports democracy and human rights; it has a
free press and free elections; its elected leaders deserve to
be treated with respect and dignity; and the U.S. Senate has
voted several times last year to welcome President Lee to the
United States.
Perhaps if President Clinton were more confident in the
diplomatic skills of his administration, he would be less
cautious about putting a few old Communist tyrants in a
temporary huff.
____
[From the Oregonian, Feb. 24, 1995]
Strengthen U.S.-Taiwan Ties
Taiwan has made remarkable efforts to do the kinds of
things that United States foreign policy has asked of it. The
Clinton administration ought to reward that effort by further
loosening the shackles on U.S. Taiwanese relations. It made
some hopeful changes last September, but badly needs to do
more.
Members of both parties in Congress are dismayed--rightly
so--at how this country has treated Taiwan's reformist
President Lee Tanghui. It forbade him to stay overnight when
his plane landed in Hawaii for refueling last May on a trip
to Central America, and so far has refused permission for Lee
to enter the United States, even as a private citizen acting
in a wholly unofficial capacity, to receive an honorary
degree from his alma mater, Cornell University.
The reason for that is the ``one China'' policy adopted in
1979, when the United States finally abandoned hope that the
rump Nationalist government on Taiwan would ever regain
control of mainland China, the communist People's Republic.
China considers Taiwan a rogue province. By a combination
of bluster and threat, it has long persuaded other nations
and international organizations to isolate Taiwan.
But that doesn't mean the United States shouldn't do much
more to strengthen its unofficial economic, political and
cultural ties with Taiwan pending a final resolution of the
Taiwan-China dispute.
Taiwan is our fifth-largest trading partner (third-largest
for the Columbia-Snake River Customs District) and an
economic powerhouse in Asia. We ship twice as many goods to
the island of 20 million people as we do to the mainland.
Taiwan has made immense progress along the road from
virtual dictatorship under the late Chiang Kai-shek and his
son, Chiang Ching-kuo, to representative democracy.
One result has been that Lee's ruling Nationalist Party
faces significant opposition
[[Page S6312]] not only from the populist Democratic
Progressive Party, which favors Taiwanese independence from
China, but also from a breakaway Nationalist group calling
itself the New Party.
Unlike the People's Republic. Taiwan has a free press and a
television system that is only nominally government-
controlled. The Taipei government tolerates an illegal cable
TV system that broadcast a ``democracy channel'' and news
from the mainland.
Unlike the People's Republic, Taiwan has acknowledged past
human-rights abuses, including the Nationalist slaughter of
thousands of native Taiwanese in 1947, two years before
Chiang's forces finally lost their civil war against the
communists, and has made far more human-rights progress than
the mainland.
Taiwan has taken more positive steps then the mainland to
protect U.S. intellectual property--the current sore point
between Washington and Beijing.
These are exactly the combination of reforms and brisk
march toward democracy that the United States urges on
Russia, China and some Latin American nations, among others.
The only difference is that Taiwan is getting it done.
That should be rewarded with closer ties to the United
States and U.S. help in getting Taiwan full participation in
the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund.
World Bank and other organizations that should be more
concerned with facts as they are than facts as China might
like them to be.
And let Lee visit Cornell.
Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, I intend to offer my thoughts on House
Concurrent Resolution 53, but before doing so, I would like to know if
my colleague from Alaska might engage in a colloquy on a particular
point about this resolution on which we would agree: that it is
important to maintain a productive relationship with the People's
Republic of China.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I would be happy to enter into a colloquy with my good
friend from Louisiana on this point.
Mr. JOHNSTON. I wonder if it is the Senator's intent by this
resolution to begin a two China policy, that is to violate the terms of
the agreement the United States made with the People's Republic of
China in 1979 to recognize the People's Republic of China as the sole
legal Government of China? As my colleague knows, since signing that
agreement, the United States has maintained only unofficial relations
with Taiwan, keeping commercial, cultural, and other relations without
official Government representation and without diplomatic relations.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I believe this resolution is consistent with our
agreements with the People's Republic of China and is consistent with
the Taiwan Relations Act as well. This resolution does not, in this
Senator's opinion, violate our one-China policy. I believe that the
United States can allow a private visit by President Lee to his alma
mater, Cornell University, and to a business conference in Alaska
without compromising United States foreign policy toward the People's
Republic of China.
This resolution merely calls on the administration to recognize that
President Lee should be admitted to attend private events in the United
States to promote our friendly, albeit unofficial, ties with the
Republic of China on Taiwan, as envisioned under the Taiwan Relations
Act.
Since 1979, circumstances have changed between the People's Republic
of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. I would direct my
colleague's attention to the relationship that has developed between
the People's of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan through their
unofficial entities: the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan
Straits in Beijing and the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan. The two
sides get together and talk about everything but politics. Trade and
investment has ballooned. It seems entirely appropriate that the United
States should also be able to take actions to increase our trade and
economic ties with Taiwan.
Mr. JOHNSTON. I thank the Senator from Alaska for that clarification.
As I know my colleague is aware, diplomacy is often a gray area, and I
believe there can be honest disagreements over when an action crosses a
sometimes arbitrary line. On this particular issue, the Senator from
Alaska and I might disagree over where that line is drawn. From this
colloquy I think we agree that it is in the interests of the United
States to maintain the fundamental United States-People's Republic of
China relationship.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank my friend from Louisiana for that colloquy.
Mr. JOHNSTON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, I will be very brief.
Mr. President, even with this important clarification, I remain
extremely concerned about how actions such as this, no matter how
harmless they may appear, could impact the United States relationship
with the People's Republic of China. For almost 15 years, the United
States has remained committed to a one-China policy that includes only
unofficial recognition of Taiwan. This commitment is backed up by
several joint communiques issued by the United States and the People's
Republic of China and by the Taiwan Relations Act. I am concerned about
the ambiguities and confusion a visit by President Lee to the United
States could raise in the eyes of the People's Republic of China.
Although this visit would be a private one, Mr. Lee is the President of
Taiwan, he would be staying on American soil in an official capacity,
and the United States does have a commitment to the People's Republic
of China to maintain only unofficial relations with Taiwan. I hesitate
to muddy the waters and compromise our carefully crafted, delicate
relations with the People's Republic of China by initiating vague
policies of recognition of Taiwan's leaders, whether such visits are
private or not. The People's Republic of China is entering a period of
transition. Deng Xiaoping is over 90, and it is unclear who will
succeed him as head of the Chinese Government. Now is not the time to
look as if we were altering the United States steadfast commitment to a
one-China policy.
Should this resolution pass, as I expect it will, I urge the State
Department not to follow this nonbinding resolution and not to issue a
visa to Mr. Lee. I have the greatest respect for President Lee and this
is in no way meant to be a personal affront to him. I have seen
relations between the United States and Taiwan grow and improve and I
have seen Taiwan take great strides toward democracy. In fact, this
administration completed a comprehensive review of our policy with
Taiwan last year and implemented a number of appropriate steps to
further improve our relationship with Taiwan. Taiwan has held free and
fair elections for some offices, and I hope this trend of expanding
free and fair elections will continue in the near future, including for
the office of the Presidency. I hope the United States will continue to
maintain its ties with Taiwan, but these ties must remain unofficial.
Mr. President, this is a very, very critical time for China, the
largest nation in the world upon which the stability of all of Asia
and, some would say, the stability of all of the world depends.
Deng Xiaoping, their leader, is transitioning out. New leaders are
coming in. Therefore, it is very important that the United States not
do anything to upset what is one of the most important pillars of our
relationship with them, which is a one-China policy.
Now the question is, Does this violate the one-China policy?
The Secretary of State testified before the Budget Committee in
February that the United States has committed itself to the concept of
one China and to having an unofficial relationship with Taiwan. He also
stated that if the President of Taiwan ``is wanting to transit to the
United States when he is going someplace else, that would be acceptable
under the new arrangements. But it is regarded as being inconsistent
with the unofficial character of our relationships with Taiwan for the
President to visit here in what would be, in effect, an official
capacity.'' It is my hope that, should this resolution be enacted by
the Congress, the administration will continue to hold to this policy
and will not issue the travel visa to President Lee. As I said earlier,
while I have the greatest respect for the President and people of
Taiwan, and commend them on the significant progress they have made
toward democracy, the United States Congress should not alter over 15
years of United States foreign policy with a single resolution. Our
current foreign policy toward China and Taiwan brings maximum benefit
to the United States; we have official diplomatic ties with
[[Page S6313]] Beijing while maintaining trade and cultural relations
with Taipei. We should not change a policy that continues to serve U.S.
interests so well.
Our Secretary of State believes this does violence to the one-China
policy. I, therefore, would urge my colleagues to vote against this
resolution, and I urge the Secretary of State not to issue the visa
called for by this resolution. I stand second to no one in my affection
and regard for Taiwan. But the way to show our regard and affection for
Taiwan and President Lee is not by departing, however ambiguously, from
the one-China policy.
Mr. SIMON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I will take only 1 minute.
I think this is a sound resolution. I want to get along with the
People's Republic of China, but they cannot dictate what we do. Taiwan
has a freely elected government and a free press, all the things we say
that we allow. The President of Taiwan wants to come over here on a
private visit and go to his alumni meeting at Cornell University. I
think for us to knuckle under to the People's Republic of China under
those circumstances just goes contrary to everything we say we profess.
I strongly support the resolution.
Mr. HELMS addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, this resolution has one fault: It is too
late in coming. It has been reported out favorably by the Foreign
Relations Committee. It is a mistake that we should have corrected a
long time ago.
Senator Murkowski and I, and others, have for a long time been
protesting this travesty in the conduct of U.S. foreign relations. How
and when did the United States reach the point in United States-
Taiwanese relations that United States foreign policy could preclude a
visit to the United States of the highest ranking, democratically
elected official of Taiwan?
Though I did not often disagree with Ronald Reagan--I did on
occasion, and one of those times was when President Reagan's advisers
made a regrettable decision which risked jeopardizing our relations
with Taiwan by cuddling up to the brutal dictators in Beijing. Since
that time, we have been hiding behind a diplomatic screen when
demonstrating our commitment and loyalty to the Taiwanese people.
Mr. President, at the time President Reagan's advisers made that
grievous error, Congress was promised that the United States would
continue to ``preserve and promote extensive, close and friendly * * *
relations'' with the people on Taiwan. But successive administrations
have not lived up to that promise. How in the world could any one
consider it close and friendly to require the President of Taiwan to
sit in his plane on a runway in Honolulu while it was refueled? I find
it hard to imagine that United States relations with Red China would
have come to a standstill because of a weekend visit to the United
States by Taiwan's President Lee.
The President's China policy is in poor shape at this point--even
members of his team recognize that. So, how can anyone really believe
that allowing President Lee to travel to his alma mater--or to vacation
in North Carolina--would send our already precarious relations with Red
China plummeting over the edge?
Last time I checked, the Mainland Chinese were obviously enjoying
their relations with the United States--a small wonder since they are
benefiting $30 billion a year from the American taxpayer as a result of
United States trade with Red China.
Time and again, the U.S. Congress has urged the administration to
grant President Lee a visa. We have amended our immigration law so that
it now specifically mentions the President of Taiwan. Congress has
passed resolution after resolution encouraging the President to allow
President Lee into the United States for a visit. All to no avail.
But today the delay is over. I hope I will have the privilege of
being one of the first to welcome the distinguished President of the
Republic of China on Taiwan. He deserves a warm welcome from all of us.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I strongly hope that the concurrent
resolution will be agreed to. The President of Taiwan has studied and
taught at Cornell, as well as Iowa State. This is a single visit. It
fits within the guidelines of the policy review carried out by the
White House and the National Security Council. It is a resolution which
should get an ``aye'' vote.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Nickles be added
as the 54th bipartisan cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise this morning as the chairman of the
Senate Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs to join in the
sentiments expressed by my colleague, Senator Murkowski, on Taiwan, and
in particular on the visit of President Lee.
I need not repeat in detail for the Senate Taiwan's many
accomplishments, either economic or political; these have often been
discussed on the Senate floor. It is sufficient to note that this
country is our fifth largest trading partner, and imports over 17
billion dollars worth of U.S. products annually. More importantly,
though, Taiwan is a model emerging democracy in a region of the world
not particularly noted for its long democratic tradition.
The Taiwanese Government has ended martial law, removed restrictions
on freedom of the press, legalized the opposition parties, and
instituted electoral reforms which last December resulted in free
elections. Taiwan is one of our staunchest friends; I think every
Member of this body recognizes that, and accords Taiwan a special place
among our allies. Unfortunately, Mr. President, the administration
apparently does not share our views. Rather, the administration goes
out of its way to shun the Republic of China on Taiwan almost as though
it were a pariah state like Libya or Iran. Sadly, the administration's
shoddy treatment of Taiwan is based not on that country's faults or
misdeeds, but on the dictates of another country: the People's Republic
of China.
It is because the People's Republic of China continues to claim that
it is the sole legitimate Government of Taiwan, and because of the
administration's almost slavish desire to avoid upsetting that view,
that the State Department regularly kowtows to Beijing and maltreats
the Government of Taiwan.
The administration refuses to allow the President of Taiwan to enter
this country, even for a private visit. A private visit, Mr. President.
President Lee is a graduate of Cornell University, where he earned his
Ph.D. He has expressed an interest in attending a class reunion at his
alma mater this June, and a United States-Taiwan Economic Council
Conference. Yet the administration has made clear that it will not
permit him entry.
Mr. President, the only people that this country systematically
excludes from entry to its shores are felons, war criminals,
terrorists, and individuals with dangerous communicable diseases. How
is it possible that the administration can see fit to add the President
of Asia's oldest republic to this list? We have allowed representatives
of the PLO and Sinn Fein to enter the country, yet we exclude a visit
by an upstanding private citizen?
Mr. President, I think we have made clear to Beijing--I know I have
tried to--the great importance to us of our strong relationship with
that country. This relationship should, in my opinion, transcend
squabbles over diplomatic minutiae. I will always seek to avoid any
move that the Government of the People's Republic of China reasonably
could find objectionable. I believe that countries like ours should try
hard to accommodate each others' needs and concerns, in order to
further strengthen our relationship.
However, I believe that the People's Republic of China needs to
recognize the reality of this situation. Both Taiwan and the People's
Republic of China are strong, economically vibrant entities. Both share
a common heritage and common culture, yet have chosen political systems
that are mutually exclusive. And despite these differences, the United
States has a strong and important relationship with both.
[[Page S6314]] I strongly believe that it is the Chinese who must
work out their differences among themselves, without resort to or
interference by outside forces. While I am sure that a solution will
come eventually, it is liable to take a number of years. In the
meantime, it does no good to continually place the United States in the
unproductive position of having to walk a tightrope between the two, of
continually having to choose sides.
Mr. President, our Taiwanese friends have been very understanding
about our relationship with the People's Republic of China. I would
hope that our friends in Beijing would be equally respectful of our
relationship with Taipei. I fully support the concurrent resolution.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the concurrent
resolution offered by Senator Murkowski, which I am pleased to
cosponsor.
This, very simply, would state the sense of the Senate that we should
remove existing restrictions on the right of President Lee Teng-hui, of
the Republic of China on Taiwan, to travel to the United States. As my
colleagues have already heard, the President of Taiwan wishes to come
here to visit his alma mater, Cornell University. However, he cannot,
because existing U.S. policy prevents him from staying here overnight.
It is certainly no secret to my colleagues that a principal reason
for this restriction is the particular sensitivity of the Mainland
Chinese Government to how the United States deals with and treats the
Taiwanese. I would simply say that I speak as someone who has--and
will--stoutly defended the United States-China relationship, even when
Mainland China was under attack here in the United States for alleged
human rights transgressions. I have consistently argued that the best
policy toward China is one of mutual exchange and respect, of
cooperation in trade, environmental work, population issues, and all
else. So I do not believe that I can fairly be accused of being
heedless of the very real and delicate sensitivities that the Chinese
might display regarding this matter.
However, I believe that it is possible--indeed, imperative--that we
be open in our dealings with Mainland China and with Taiwan
simultaneously. We must not insult the one in order to please the
other. Indeed, even China and Taiwan are coming to increasingly
recognize the foolishness of their mutual antagonism of the last
several decades. It is still a sensitive and difficult problem for each
government, but ``behind the scenes,'' we are seeing more travel across
the Taiwan Strait, more investment, more economic and cultural
exchange. That relationship is beginning, however slowly, to change.
In any case, there are limits to how much we should rebuff the
Taiwanese in order to preserve our relationship with Beijing. We should
strive to trade with the Chinese, to cooperate with them on a large
number of issues, but not to refuse to participate in relationships
that are beneficial and proper for the United States. One of these is
with the Republic of China on Taiwan.
Mr. President, I have always been one who has argued that there is a
vital stake in old foes coming together to hammer out their ancient
differences and eternal conflicts. I believe that backchannel contacts
were indispensable to bringing about the possibility for expanded,
public talks to bring about peace in the Middle East and in Ireland. So
I have not publicly criticized the administration for its dealings with
Yasir Arafat, or with Gerry Adams, or any of a number of at times even
justifiable blameworthy international figures.
But it does strike me as very odd that we can reach out so much to
individuals who have previously engaged in fully criminal conduct, yet
we cannot even allow one of our true friends, the President of Taiwan,
to come to the United States for a private--I stress, private--visit.
And he is indeed a friend to the United States--his administration
has made it far easier for the United States to pursue a desirable
economic relationship with Taiwan without sacrificing any of our
principles on human rights. Taiwan has recently enjoyed the freest and
fairest elections in its history. There is unprecedented political
competition, and public debate, and fully indulged criticism of the
Government, in that country. It is not an American-style democracy by
any stretch. But the progress has been quite remarkable.
What we have here is a policy of punishment for precisely the type of
behavior which we would hope to see in our oversees counterparts.
President Lee has not only worked to make the United States-Taiwan
relationship less troublesome, but even has exerted energy to lessen
strains in the Taiwan-China relationship as well. That takes genuine
political courage.
So I congratulate my fine friend the Senator from Alaska, Frank
Murkowski, for bringing this matter to the attention of the Senate, and
I pledge to him my full support in this and future efforts to repair
and resolve this situation.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise in support of this concurrent
resolution.
The concurrent resolution offered by the Senator from Alaska is, in
essence, a statement of a basic American principle: free association,
or our right to meet and speak with whomever we choose. It is strictly
limited to this issue, and raises no fundamental questions of China
policy.
This resolution welcomes the visit of President Lee Teng-hui of
Taiwan, as a private citizen, to attend the United States-Republic of
China Business Council conference in Alaska, and give a speech at
Cornell University. These activities would in no way violate any of our
commitments to China, and would make sure we give President Lee the
respect he has earned as one of Asia's great democrats.
The principal objection to this resolution is the claim that it would
violated American commitments to the Chinese Government. Let me review
precisely what these commitments are. In 1972, 1979, and 1982, we
signed a series of three communiques with the People's Republic of
China. In the last of these, to quote the text:
The two sides agreed that the people of the United States
would continue to maintain cultural, commercial, and other
unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.
I believe we should keep our promises. We have made commitments to
China to maintain a one-China policy and keep our relationship with
Taiwan on an unofficial basis. And as long as China keeps its side of
the bargain--to ``strive for a peaceful resolution'' to its differences
with Taiwan--we should keep ours.
But the text of the communique is very clear. It says that our
relationship will be unofficial. What is does not say is equally clear.
That is, neither the 1982 communique nor the other two make any
commitment whatsoever which Chinese citizens shall be eligible for
visas. Thus, I am convinced that the proposed visit by President Lee as
a private citizen would fall entirely within the framework of
``cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations.''
Once again, this concurrent resolution, rightly construed, does not
bear on China policy at all. It is simply as statement of our right as
Americans to meet and speak with whom we choose; and of our respect and
friendship for President Lee personally and the people of Taiwan in
general. I support it and hope my colleagues will do likewise.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, could I just make an announcement? The
Budget Committee intended to go back to mark up and vote after the two
votes. I would like to tell them all we are going to go back to
committee and have two votes, one after another. I hope they will all
come. No proxy votes allowed.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the concurrent
resolution. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call
the roll.
Mr. LOTT. I announce that the Senator from Virginia [Mr. Warner] is
necessarily absent.
Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from New York [Mr. Moynihan] is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
who desire to vote?
[[Page S6315]] The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 1, as
follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 157 Leg.]
YEAS--97
Abraham
Akaka
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Bradley
Breaux
Brown
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Coats
Cochran
Cohen
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Exon
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatch
Hatfield
Heflin
Helms
Hollings
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Kassebaum
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Nunn
Packwood
Pell
Pressler
Pryor
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Shelby
Simon
Simpson
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Wellstone
NAYS--1
Johnston
NOT VOTING--2
Moynihan
Warner
So the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 53) was agreed to.
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
____________________