[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 11 (Friday, January 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S395-S396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today as the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs to express my concern at 
recent reports in the domestic and foreign media that the Government of 
the People's Republic of China has formulated plans for a military 
invasion or blockade of Taiwan.
  These reports surfaced first a month or two ago in Hong Kong papers 
known to be sympathetic to Beijing--known, 

[[Page S396]]
in fact, to be instruments of the Chinese Government--such as Ta Kung 
Pao. It was further reported in the colony's more mainstream papers, 
including a series of reports in the Eastern Express. Clearly, the 
initial discovery of this information was not the result of 
investigative reporting on the part of these papers. Rather, it shows 
all the signs of having been an organized leak on the part of the 
Beijing Government. The same information has been relayed to us through 
high-level channels in the People's Republic of China Government and 
military.
  The purpose of the leak appears to me to be three-fold. First, it 
must be viewed in light of the present political situation in the 
People's Republic of China. As my colleagues know, while President 
Jiang Zemin is substantially in control of the Government as the 
successor to Deng Xiaoping, the succession is far from being settled 
with absolute finality. As a result, the leadership has been careful to 
court the conservative elements of the power structure: the People's 
Liberation Army [PLA]. The PLA, like armies everywhere, tends to be 
very nationalistic, and the reacquisition of Taiwan is at the top of 
its wish-list. Consequently, the People's Republic of China leadership 
has taken a more hardline approach to the Taiwan question than might 
usually be expected.
  Second, many observers--and the Taiwanese officials with whom I have 
spoken--believe that the leaked information is designed to intimidate 
the Taiwanese people and their elected officials. The People's Republic 
of China believes that over the last year the Government of Taiwan, led 
by President Lee Teng-hui, has been increasing its attempts to raise 
Taiwan's status in the international arena. They cite increased 
diplomatic initiatives in Central America and Africa, the visits of 
President Lee and other high-level officials to countries such as the 
United States, Canada, and the Czech Republic last summer, and moves to 
join the U.N. and other international organizations.
  The People's Republic of China apparently regards these efforts as an 
affront to their one-China policy, and a move by Taipei to create two 
Chinas or one China, one Taiwan. In an effort to stem this rising tide, 
Beijing has resorted to a number of reactions. The People's Republic of 
China conducted a series of provocative air-to-air missile tests from 
July 21 to 26 in an area only 60 kilometers north of Taiwan's 
Pengchiayu Island. The missiles fired consisted mainly of Dongfeng-31 
ICBM's and M-class short-range tactical missiles. At the same time, the 
PLA mobilized forces in coastal Fujian Province and moved a number of 
Jian-8 aircraft to the coast. Following those tests, the PLA conducted 
a second round of similar maneuvers between August 15 and 25. In 
conjunction with these tests, Taiwan intelligence reported the movement 
of a number of F-7 and F-8 long-range bombers and aircraft to bases 
within 250 nautical miles of Taiwan. There have also been reports that 
the People's Liberation Army-Air Force has stepped up practicing 
precision bombing and missile targeting.
  It was no accident that the tests were so close to Taiwanese 
territory, or that they coincided with Taiwan's regional elections. The 
message to Taiwan was clear: ``continue down this road, continue to 
move forward toward a complete democracy, and we are more than capable 
of reacquiring you forcibly.'' This message is similarly timed; it 
comes very close to Taiwan's first fully democratic elections, 
scheduled to be held in March.
  Third, it appears that the information was intended to send a signal 
to us in Congress, as well as the administration, that we should rein 
in our support for Taiwan and its elected leaders, and reconsider any 
thought of supplying Taiwan with defensive weapons or similar support. 
It will not surprise anyone here that Congress has been supportive of 
Taiwan and its people. Since 1949, the citizens of Taiwan have made 
amazing strides in developing their country both economically and 
politically. Taiwan has become the world's ninth largest economy; 
moreover, it has moved from a military authoritarian government to 
oligarchy to full participatory democracy. That move will be capped in 
March by the first democratic election of the country's President. 
Given this progress, I know that many Members of Congress, and the 
American people, cannot help but feel a bond with the people of that 
island. It is that bond that worries the People's Republic of China, 
and which it seeks to stem.
  The Chinese Foreign Ministry, through two of its spokesmen, Shen 
Guofang and Chen Jian, issued a somewhat vague denial of the reports. I 
would like to take that denial at face value, and indeed the reaction 
in the military and intelligence circles here has been that the entire 
issue may be somewhat overblown. I would stress that there is no 
concrete proof of the allegations but for the news reports. However, as 
we have seen in the past, sometimes the denials of the Ministry do not 
match the Government's actions. Just in the unlikely event that this is 
the case, I'd like to make my position as the chairman of the 
subcommittee of jurisdiction clear.
  I will agree, to a point, with Beijing's assertions that any eventual 
reunification of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan is an 
internal affair for the Chinese people in which other countries should 
not interfere. But I cannot stress strongly enough my feeling that it 
is not the People's Republic of China's internal affair alone; it is 
one for Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to decide. There 
are 27 million people in Taiwan who have made clear their desire to 
live in a free and democratic society. It is consequently not for the 
People's Republic of China, under the guise of reuniting the motherland 
to unilaterally dictate the terms, timing, or conditions of that 
reunification.
  The People's Republic of China should make no mistake; I strongly 
believe that any attempt to establish a military or economic blockade 
of Taiwan, or other such military threat, will be met with by the most 
resolute condemnation and reaction on the part of the United States, 
and indeed the rest of the community of nations. It is my view that 
actions such as the missile tests and threat of military force will 
have the exact opposite of their desired outcome. As we have seen, the 
people of Taiwan did not let themselves be intimidated at the polls by 
the launching of Dongfeng missiles. I believe that such threats can 
only serve to make them more resolute in their goals.
  Similarly, it is my opinion that such actions can only backfire in 
regards to their intended effect on the United States. The People's 
Republic of China would do well to remember the provisions of the joint 
United States-People's Republic of China communiques, and more 
importantly of the Taiwan Relations Act. We have stated repeatedly that 
we expect the future of Taiwan to be settled by peaceful means, and 
that we consider any move to settle it by other than peaceful means to 
``be a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and 
of grave concern to the United States.'' The Taiwan Relations Act, and 
the communiques, safeguard our right to sell Taiwan weapons to enable 
it to protect itself from aggression. If the People's Republic of China 
continues to threaten Taiwan and its security, then it is not out of 
the realm of possibility that in reaction the amount and frequency of 
those arms sales might increase.
  In closing Mr. President, while I believe that the reports--
especially that in the New York Times--have tended toward the alarmist, 
I feel it is very important that the People's Republic of China know 
exactly where I stand on this issue. That is why I have come to the 
floor today. And similarly, toward that end I call upon the 
administration to relay our position to Beijing in the clearest and 
most unequivocal terms.

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