[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E378-E379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICA MUST STAND BY TAIWAN

                                 ______


                            HON. BILL BAKER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 1996

  Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, on March 23, the people of 
Taiwan will hold an event we in this country much too often take for 
granted: a free election. As Americans, we share in their pride and 
hopeful anticipation of this great celebration of liberty.
  At the same time, we must condemn the actions of the Mainland Chinese 
in attempting to intimidate the Taiwanese people. The efforts of the 
dictators in Beijing to somehow frighten the people of Taiwan into 
postponing their election have failed, and have again reminded the 
world of what the raw and sordid face of Marxist totalitarianism looks 
like.
  Recently I met on Capitol Hill with Mr. Chen Rong-jye, Deputy 
Representative of the government of Taiwan. Mr. Chen holds the second-
ranking position in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative 
Office in the United States, the equivalent of the Taiwanese Embassy--
since formal American recognition of the Communist government in 
Beijing, Taiwan has had no formal embassy in the United States. We 
discussed China's military actions in the vicinity of Taiwan's 
coastline, and Mr. Chen showed me on a map how close the Communist 
Chinese had come in their missile exercises to two major Taiwanese 
ports.
  I was honored that Mr. Chen came to the Hill to meet with me and 
discuss the Taiwanese situation. Communist China's crude bullying of 
Taiwan has failed to sway the commitment of the Taiwanese people to 
democratic elections later this month, and I fully endorse their brave 
determination to stand for liberty, and also am strongly supportive of 
the recent placement of U.S. naval ships in the waters near Taiwan.
  In addition, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the nonbinding 
House Concurrent

[[Page E379]]

Resolution 148, a resolution that states, in part, that ``the United 
States, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the 
constitutional process of the United States, and consistent with its 
friendship with and commitment to the democratic government and people 
of Taiwan, should assist in defending them against invasion, missile 
attack, or blockade by the People's Republic of China.''
  Other key supporters of this resolution include House Speaker Newt 
Gingrich, International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman 
(R-NY), House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and House Majority Whip Tom 
DeLay.
  Ronald Reagan once reminded us that ``we are a people with a 
government, not the other way around.'' The people of Taiwan understand 
this fundamental truth in a way the aging tyrants in Beijing perhaps 
never will, which is all the more reason for the United States to 
uphold our longtime friends on Taiwan.

                          ____________________