[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING EVA AIRLINES DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM TAIWAN TO HOUSTON

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2015

  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize another step forward in 
the great relationship between the United States and Taiwan.
  This past Friday, June 19th, EVA Air began offering direct flights 
from Taipei, Taiwan to Houston, Texas. The inaugural flight, number BR-
52, arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly after 4:00 
pm on June 19th.
  This is the beginning of weekly direct flights from Taipei to 
Houston. In June there will be three flights a week which will be 
increased to four flights a week in July.
  EVA Air is looking to serve the Taiwanese community of the Houston 
area by offering these direct flights multiple times per week. These 
communities are an important part of Texas and I am pleased that EVA 
Air has further facilitated travel between our nations.
  EVA Air operates out of Taiwan and is their second largest airline. 
According to the JACDEC Airline Safety Rankings for 2015 (based on 2014 
data), EVA is the 3rd safest airline in the world.
  Taiwan and the United States already have an outstanding relationship 
that was codified with the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979. The TRA 
was created to allow our two nations to foster close ties and 
specifically ``commercial, cultural, and other relations between the 
people of the United States and the people on Taiwan.''
  The TRA enables our two nations to work and partner with one another 
in a way that is unique from all other nations, and these weekly 
flights between Taiwan and Houston are just the latest example of how 
compliance with the TRA continues to benefit our citizens 36 years 
after its passage.

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