[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATING PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU AND THE TAIWANESE PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JEAN SCHMIDT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate President Ma 
Ying-jeou on his re-election to the presidency of the Republic of China 
(Taiwan) and to wish him well on the auspicious occasion of his second 
inauguration on May 20, 2012.
  I also wish to congratulate the Taiwanese people for the peaceful 
presidential and parliamentary elections in which they participated on 
January 14, 2012. The openness, fairness, and transparency with which 
they conducted their elections are the traditional hallmarks of a 
mature and democratic country.
  Taiwan stands as a beacon of freedom and liberty in East Asia. As one 
of our closest and most trusted friends in the world, it is my most 
sincere hope that we never lose sight of our responsibilities to Taiwan 
under the Taiwanese Relations Act and, additionally, that we always 
look to the Six Assurances as the proper set of guidelines by which we 
conduct ourselves in all diplomatic matters relating to the Republic of 
China.
  Again, I wish to express my most heartfelt congratulations to both 
President Ma and to the Taiwanese people.

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