[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 91 (Friday, July 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7960-S7961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RELATIVE TO TAIWAN ADMISSION TO MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HELMS AMENDMENT NO. 3122

  Mr. GRAMS (for Mr. Helms) proposed an amendment to the concurrent 
resolution (S. Con. Res. 30) expressing the sense of the Congress that 
the Republic of China should be admitted to multilateral economic 
institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the 
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; as follows:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following: That it is the sense of the Senate (the House of 
     Representatives concurring) that it should be United States 
     policy to--
       (1) support changes to the International Monetary Fund 
     Charter that would allow the Republic of China on Taiwan and 
     other qualified economies to become members of the 
     International Monetary Fund; and
       (2) support the admission of Taiwan to membership in other 
     international economic organizations for which it is 
     qualified, including the International Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development.
       Strike the preamble and insert the following:
       Whereas the Republic of China on Taiwan (hereafter referred 
     to as ``Taiwan'') possesses a free economy with the 19th 
     largest gross domestic product in the world;
       Whereas Taiwan has the 14th largest trading economy in the 
     world and the 7th largest amount of foreign investment in the 
     world and holds one of the largest amounts of foreign 
     exchange reserves in the world;
       Whereas Taiwan is a democracy committed to the economic and 
     political norms of the international community;
       Whereas the purpose of the International Monetary Fund 
     (hereafter referred to as ``IMF'') is to promote exchange 
     stability, to establish a multilateral system of payments, to 
     facilitate the expansion of world trade, and to provide 
     capital to assist developing nations;
       Whereas changes to the IMF Charter that would allow Taiwan 
     and other qualified economies to become members of the IMF 
     would benefit the world economy, especially those developing 
     countries in need of capital, and would contribute to the 
     purposes of the IMF;
       Whereas the IMF aims to further economic liberalization and 
     globalization and conducts conferences, exchanges, and 
     training programs in international monetary management which 
     would be beneficial to Taiwan;
       Whereas membership in the IMF is a prerequisite for 
     accession to the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
     Development and to regional banks in which Taiwan's 
     membership would be beneficial; and
       Whereas Taiwan is already a member of regional multilateral 
     economic institutions including the Asia-Pacific Economic 
     Cooperation Forum and the Asian Development Bank: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Amend the title so as to read: ``Expressing the sense of 
     Congress that the rules of multilateral economic 
     institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and 
     the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 
     should be amended to allow membership for the Republic of 
     China on Taiwan and other qualified economies.''.

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