[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 91 (Friday, July 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S8015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATIVE TO ADMISSION OF THE 
   REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON TAIWAN TO MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 374, S. Con. 
Res. 30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 30) expressing the 
     sense of the Congress that the Republic of China on Taiwan 
     should be admitted to multilateral economic institutions, 
     including the International Monetary Fund and the 
     International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.


                           Amendment No. 3122

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, there is an amendment at the desk, and I 
ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Grams], for Mr. Helms, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 3122.

  The amendment is 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

  Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to the 
resolution be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3122) was agreed to.
  Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution, as amended, 
be agreed to. I further ask unanimous consent that an amendment at the 
desk to the preamble be agreed to, and the preamble, as amended, be 
agreed to. And I finally ask that the title amendment be agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements 
relating to the concurrent resolution appear at the appropriate place 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Con. Res. 30), as amended, was agreed to.
  The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, reads as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 30

       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
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), 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.
  The title was amended 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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