[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1083-E1084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRESS NEEDS TO ARM TAIWAN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2000

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the record the 
attached editorial written by Phil Kent and published in The Augusta 
Chronicle.

              [From the Augusta Chronicle, June 12, 2000]

                      Congress Needs to Arm Taiwan

                             (By Phil Kent)

       The story broke in the Taiwan press on May 25: The 
     Communist Chinese military started live-fire artillery 
     exercises for six days near the closest output maintained by 
     the free Chinese, who recently inaugurated a new president 
     who adheres to pro-free enterprise, anti-Communist policies.
       What does the Clinton administration do? Next to nothing.
       That same week, an unnamed top Clinton official with the 
     National Security Council even said it was a mistake for the 
     United States to issue a visa to new President Chen Chui-
     bian's predecessor so he could attend a reunion at his U.S. 
     alma mater. Just before that insulting declaration, the 
     Clinton administration decided against selling four Aegis 
     destroyers to Taiwan. (It did, however, approve the sale of 
     long-ranger radar designed to detect missile launches.)
       Yet if the anti-Communist island can't defend itself, radar 
     doesn't do much except perhaps tell them to duck. What 
     Taiwan's tough-but-small military needs are missiles of their 
     own to scare off the mainland from any attack.
       According to a recent classified Pentagon report leaked to 
     the Washington Post, Taiwan is far more vulnerable to 
     invasion from the Communist Beijing government than was 
     previously known. The island's military technology has fallen 
     behind Beijing's, particularly in the area of defending 
     itself from air and missile attack.
       Since the May 20 inauguration of Chen, and his appointment 
     of a hard-line anti-Communist from the previous ruling party 
     as defense minister, the Red Chinese military has been 
     rattling its saber even more frequently. Yet President 
     Clinton is still reluctant to sell military equipment to the 
     island.
       This reluctance, and the administration's pro-Beijing 
     slant, is thankfully drawing the attention of Congress, which 
     is naturally concerned that the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act is 
     being ignored. That legislation requires that all arms-sale 
     decisions must be based solely on Taiwan's defense needs.
       In light of the Pentagon report and current Chinese 
     military provocations, those defense needs have never been 
     greater.
       A bipartisan block in Congress has drawn up new 
     legislation, the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act. Among other 
     things, this

[[Page E1084]]

     legislation would order the executive branch to explain 
     whenever it rejects, postpones or changes a military request 
     from Taiwan.
       This bill was introduced because key lawmakers of both 
     parties value the island as a loyal ally and key trading 
     partner. Taiwan deserves entry into the World Trade 
     Organization, as does Mainland China, especially since Taiwan 
     is free, open, and democratic.
       How can Americans who live in a country that is the self-
     proclaimed ``leader of the free world'' ever abandon a free 
     country to dictatorship? At the very least, the people's 
     representatives in the legislative branch of our government 
     can hold the executive branch to account when it comes to 
     defensive armaments in Taiwain.

     

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