[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5428-S5429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       U.S. RELATIONS WITH TAIWAN

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, last night, I spoke by phone to Taiwan 
President Chen Shui-bian shortly after he arrived in New York on a so-
called ``transit stop'' on his way to Latin America. I told him how 
pleased I was the he was able to make this visit and that I regretted 
that I could not travel to New York to meet with him personally because 
of the tax bill now on the Senate floor.
  I strongly opposed the restrictions placed on President Chen when he 
passed through Los Angeles last summer and was not permitted to meet 
with members of Congress. That is no way to treat the democratically 
elected President of Taiwan.
  We are in a different era than in the 1970s when Richard Nixon opened 
up China, the three Communiques were produced, and the Taiwan Relations 
Act was passed.
  On the one hand, we still honor the one China policy. The American 
message to Beijing and Taipei continues to be that they must negotiate 
together to resolve their differences by peaceful means. We are 
determined that neither side should be able to take unilateral steps 
that would fundamentally change the situation.
  But, on the other hand, we need to understand that Taiwan now has a 
government that is as accountable to its people as is our own 
government. Although Taiwan had an authoritarian system until the late 
1980s, today it is an active democracy based on a market economy. With 
U.S. support, Taiwan made this transformation into a free market 
democracy. We should be looking at Taiwan as one of the great success 
stories of America's foreign policy.
  And that means we need to treat Taiwan differently than in the past. 
It is the 12th largest economy in the world. Taiwan is our 7th largest 
export market. In fact, we sold more goods and services to Taiwan last 
year than we did to China.
  Once Taiwan joins the World Trade Organization, and I hope it is 
soon, I believe that we should begin work on a free trade agreement 
with Taiwan. I will shortly introduce legislation to provide fast track 
negotiating authority for such a negotiation.
  Taiwan has taken many measures to liberalize its economy in recent 
years, especially in response to negotiations with the United States. 
While they await formally accession to the WTO, they are working hard 
to bring their laws and regulations into compliance with WTO 
requirements. They still have a lot of work to do to complete their 
liberalization efforts. Sectors such as telecommunications, financial 
services, and electronic commerce need to be freed up significantly. 
Protection of intellectual property needs to be improved. But a free 
trade agreement would help lock in the important economic changes 
already made, and it would also encourage continuing liberalization.
  A free trade agreement with Taiwan would provide an even better 
market for American goods, services, and agricultural exports. It would 
reward Taiwan for the dramatic political and economic progress it has 
made. And it would benefit our economy, enhance our security, and 
promote global growth.
  China would probably object to a US-Taiwan free trade agreement. But 
there would be no legal or diplomatic basis for such a protest. Taiwan 
is joining the WTO as a ``separate customs territory'' and will have 
all the rights and obligations of every other WTO member, including 
Beijing. We have been negotiating with Taiwan for years on market 
access, trade, and regulatory issues. Taiwan is a member of APEC, the 
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. We must determine what will be 
U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
  I recognize that this is an unusual proposal. I don't expect 
negotiations on a free trade agreement to start right away. But it is a 
vision toward which we should all work.

[[Page S5429]]

  To conclude, I hope that President Chen has a useful stay in New 
York. I also hope that we will see a meeting between President Chen and 
Chinese President Jiang Zemin at the APEC summit in Shanghai in 
October. The dialogue that should emerge from such a meeting could help 
ensure peace across the Taiwan Strait.

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