[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 99 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3955-S3956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 40--RECOGNIZING THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP 
  BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND TAIWAN AND THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE 
    AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN IN STRENGTHENING SUCH RELATIONSHIP

  Mr. GARDNER (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Inhofe, 
and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 40

       Whereas Taiwan is--
       (1) a free, democratic, and prosperous nation of 23,000,000 
     people; and
       (2) an important contributor to peace and stability around 
     the world;
       Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.)--
       (1) states that it is the policy of the United States ``to 
     preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly 
     commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people 
     of the United States and the people of Taiwan'';
       (2) states ``Programs, transactions, and other relations 
     conducted or carried out by the President or any agency of 
     the United States Government with respect to Taiwan shall, in 
     the manner and to the extent directed by the President, be 
     conducted and carried out by or through ... the American 
     Institute in Taiwan''; and
       (3) established the American Institute in Taiwan, which is 
     responsible for--
          (A) managing unofficial United States relations with 
     Taiwan; and
          (B) implementing United States policy toward Taiwan, 
     including a wide range of activities such as commercial 
     services, agricultural sales, consular services, and cultural 
     exchanges;
       Whereas the 3 pillars of the American Institute in Taiwan's 
     mission are--
       (1) security and defense cooperation;
       (2) commercial and economic relations; and
       (3) people-to-people ties;
       Whereas the American Institute in Taiwan--
       (1) will open its new office complex in Taipei on June 12, 
     2018, which--
          (A) consists of 14,934 square meters of office space 
     constructed at a cost of $250,000,000, underscoring the 
     United States' commitment to its relationship with Taiwan;
          (B) will allow all of its sections and operations in 
     Taipei to be co-located in a modern, secure, and energy 
     efficient facility;
          (C) was built with a combination of materials from the 
     United States and Taiwan;
          (D) will be staffed by a workforce of approximately 500 
     employees from the United States, Taiwan, and other 
     countries; and
          (E) will host a permanent ``Art in AIT'' collection of 
     works by United States and Taiwan artists that embodies the 
     artistic and cultural confluences of innumerable person-to-
     person ties that link Taiwan and the United States;
       (2) also has a branch office in Kaohsiung, which has more 
     than 30 employees; and
       (3) processed 34,000 visas in 2017;
       Whereas President Tsai Ing-wen visited the American 
     Institute of Taiwan on May 15, 2018 and plans to attend its 
     official opening on June 12, 2018;
       Whereas since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen in 
     2016, the Government of the People's Republic of China has 
     intensified its efforts to exclude Taiwan from international 
     organizations;
       Whereas in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review, the United States 
     declared its intention to support Taiwan's participation in 
     appropriate international organizations;
       Whereas Taiwan is a full member of the World Trade 
     Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, 
     and the Asian Development Bank;
       Whereas according to the Department of State, ``the United 
     States supports Taiwan's membership in international 
     organizations that do not require statehood as a condition of 
     membership and encourages Taiwan's meaningful participation 
     in international organizations where its membership is not 
     possible'';
       Whereas Taiwan maintains full diplomatic relations with 18 
     nations around the world;
       Whereas on February 28, 2018, the United States Senate 
     unanimously passed the Taiwan Travel Act (Public Law 115-
     135), which was signed into law on March 16, 2018, declaring 
     that it should be the policy of the United States to allow 
     officials at all levels of the United States Government to 
     visit Taiwan in their official capacities; and
       Whereas the United States National Security Strategy, which 
     was released in December 2017, states: ``We will maintain our 
     strong ties with Taiwan in accordance with our `One China' 
     policy, including our commitments under the Taiwan Relations 
     Act to provide for Taiwan's legitimate defense needs and 
     deter coercion.'':
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) welcomes the opening of the new American Institute of 
     Taiwan office in Taipei, which will--
       (A) cultivate the relationship between the United States 
     and Taiwan; and
       (B) further demonstrate the United States' commitment to 
     bolstering its friendship and its commercial and defense 
     partnership with Taiwan;
       (2) recognizes that the American Institute of Taiwan--
       (A) reflects the democratic values shared by the United 
     States and Taiwan; and

[[Page S3956]]

       (B) represents close cooperation on emerging regional and 
     global issues;
       (3) emphasizes that the new American Institute of Taiwan 
     facility--
       (A) demonstrates a strong United States-Taiwan partnership; 
     and
       (B) reflects the increasing depth of our unofficial 
     relationship;
       (4) expresses hope that the United States and Taiwan will 
     continue to foster and seek new ways to build upon the robust 
     relationship, facilitated through the American Institute of 
     Taiwan; and
       (5) urges the Executive Branch to fully implement the 
     Taiwan Relations Act, the Taiwan Travel Act, and other 
     relevant policy directives that strengthen the relationship 
     between the United States and Taiwan.

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