[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CELEBRATING THE 120TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TWIN OAKS ESTATE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2008

  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, nearly every longtime Washingtonian knows 
of a beautiful location on Woodley Road, the 18-acre compound known as 
the Twin Oaks estate. It was built in 1888 by Gardiner Greene Hubbard, 
founder of the National Geographic Society. The estate's 26-room house 
in the early Colonial, Georgian, Revival style and modeled after a New 
England frame summer house, is the only remaining example of that style 
in the District of Columbia.
  The estate was rented to the Republic of China, ROC, Government in 
1937 and was later sold to the ROC Government in 1947. In its heyday, 
the estate was the official residence of 9 ROC ambassadors, who used it 
to entertain senior members of the U.S. Government, U.S. Senators and 
Congressmen, including future President Gerald Ford, and other members 
of the diplomatic corps in Washington, DC. It began a tradition of 
hospitality and friendship at Twin Oaks that continues to this day.
  Twin Oaks was also the place where the ROC's senior diplomat H. K. 
Yang negotiated with the U.S. administration and Members of Congress to 
chart a positive course for future relations between Taiwan and the 
United States, after the termination of official ties between our two 
countries in 1978.
  The product and result of Minister H. K. Yang's negotiations was the 
enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in April 1979. The TRA set the 
framework for unofficial relations between the U.S. and Taiwan. For the 
last 29 years, the TRA has served both the U.S and Taiwan extremely 
well. We have continued our unofficial, but strong ties with Taiwan. 
Taiwan, in turn, has become one of the most prosperous and democratic 
countries in Asia. It is my hope that as we celebrate the 120-year 
history of the Twin Oaks estate, we also celebrate the 29th anniversary 
of the Taiwan Relations Act this April.

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