[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 97 (Monday, July 20, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LINDA SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 20, 1998

  Mrs. LINDA SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I was appalled to hear 
on June 30, 1998 President Clinton affirm China's ``three noes'' 
concerning Taiwan. Specifically, he said: ``We don't support 
independence for Taiwan, or two Chinas; or one Taiwan, one China; and 
we don't believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for 
which statehood is a requirement.''
  Sadly, the President turned his back on 22 million people who live in 
democracy. What kind of message are we sending to the emerging 
democracies of the world? Are we going to turn our backs on these 
nations for political expediency?
  Today, by a vote of 390 to 1 the House of Representatives voted to 
affirm U.S. commitment to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan 
Relations Act. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by Congress and signed 
into law in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 recognition of mainland 
China, says that the United States will view any attempt to determine 
Taiwan's future by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or 
embargoes, as a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific 
area and of grave concern to the United States.
  Furthermore, H. Con. Res. 301 expresses the sense of Congress that 
the future status of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means and 
that Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should determine their 
own future. Importantly, it states that we should make available to 
Taiwan ``defense articles and defense service,'' including appropriate 
ballistic missile defenses. Taiwan should also be able to have 
appropriate membership in international financial institutions.
  The people of Taiwan have worked hard and sacrificed for their 
democracy. Taiwan transformed itself into a democracy with a multiparty 
parliament and a popularly elected head of state, the first in all the 
millenniums of Chinese political experience. In the end, Taiwan's 
future is not a matter for President Clinton, the American government 
or Beijing. It is a matter soley for the government and people of 
Taiwan to decide.

                          ____________________