[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   THE COMMENCEMENT OF DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN HOUSTON'S GEORGE BUSH 
    INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND TAIWAN'S TAOYUAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 16, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate a significant 
milestone achievement, the commencement of direct flights between 
Houston's George Bush International Airport (IAH) and Taiwan's Taoyuan 
International Airport.
  The arrival of EVA Airways Flight #52, which is scheduled to arrive 
at George Bush International Airport from Taipei on June 19, 2015, at 
4:30 p.m., will mark the first direct flight from Taipei.
  Houston and Taipei are sister cities, having begun a friendship in 
1961 that has for more than 50 years provided mutual benefits in the 
areas of business, culture and education, as has brought significant 
direct foreign investment to Houston and Texas.
  Taiwan is the United States' 10th largest trading partner and the 
United States is Taiwan's largest foreign investor.
  Our people-to-people exchanges are flourishing, with over 20,000 
Taiwanese students studying in the United States each year.
  In 2012, the first year that Taiwan was eligible to participate in 
the Visa Waiver Program, travel from Taiwan to the United States 
increased 35 percent.
  EVA Airway's direct flight between Houston and Taipei will facilitate 
continuous prosperity and cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan.
  As the airline also connects major cities in East and Southeast Asia, 
the direct flight service is expected to facilitate more business, 
tourism and leisure travel between not only Houston and Taipei but 
Houston and the entire region as well.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize and congratulate Houston's 
George Bush International Airport and EVA Airways on their bold, 
exciting, and mutually beneficial new venture of direct air travel 
between Houston and Taipei.

                          ____________________