[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            PRESIDENT LEE'S ONE GIANT STEP OUT OF ISOLATION

                                 ______


                         HON. EARL F. HILLIARD

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 28, 1995
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to see that President Lee 
Teng-hui had taken one giant step out of isolation in having concluded 
his private trip to a Cornell University reunion on June 9-10, 1995. As 
the Washington Post and other major newspapers have noted, President 
Lee's successful visit to his alma mater ``marked a bold, symbolic step 
out of Taiwan's decade and a half of official international 
isolation.''
  Taiwan's political achievements are recognized worldwide, and I 
applaud Taiwan's successful efforts in having dismantled its old 
political system and replace it with one of Asia's most exuberant new 
democracies. In the last few years, martial law has been lifted, 
political prisoners have been freed, and opposing parties are firmly 
established and flourishing. Moreover, Taiwan has continued to enjoy an 
unprecedented economic prosperity. Its citizens enjoy one of the 
highest standards of living and Taiwan is our sixth-largest trading 
partner.
  I have met with President Lee Teng-hui, an affable world-class 
statesman, as well as other Taiwanese leaders such as Foreign Minister 
Frederick Chien, a Yale-educated diplomat par excellence; and 
Representative Benjamin Lu, Taiwan's top diplomat in Washington, DC. 
They all have impressed me with their vision, forthrightness, 
intelligence, and their belief in our values and our democratic system 
of government.
  Taiwan is our ally in the Pacific and throughout the world. In the 
days and months ahead, I hope to see even stronger support given to the 
Republic of China in its bid to enter the United Nations and other 
international organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, my constituents in Alabama hope that Representative 
Benjamin Lu will soon find time to visit Alabama to tell the Taiwan 
story--a story that deserves to be told and retold as a shining example 
of how an undeveloped nation and its 21 million people became one of 
the world's most prosperous democracies in four decades. My 
constituents also are eager to hear Representative Lu tell how 
President Lee has taken Taiwan out of international isolation and how 
President Lee envisions Taiwan for the rest of this century and the 
early 21st century.
  Representative Lu, my constituents and I hope you will come visit us 
in Alabama--real soon.


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