[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER AND TAIWAN

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I wish to recognize an exceptional 
President and a true friend to the United States who cherishes that 
President's memory. Those of us from the great State of Kansas are 
justly proud of Dwight David Eisenhower, fondly known as ``Ike'' to his 
Abilene neighbors. The Republic of China, Taiwan, calls him a loyal 
friend.
  In 1911, Eisenhower left his boyhood home in Kansas for the U.S. 
Military Academy at West Point. During World War II, Eisenhower was in 
charge of plans in the Pacific War and commanding general of the Army's 
European Theater. On June 6, 1944, General Eisenhower led the D-day 
invasion on the beaches of Normandy and liberated Europe. During this 
time, Taiwan stood as our ally in Asia, with the Flying Tigers in the 
Doolittle Raid and along the Burma Road. In 1951, President Truman 
asked Eisenhower to become the first Supreme Allied Commander in 
Europe. After a long and decorated military career, America's voters 
said, ``I like Ike,'' by overwhelmingly electing him as the 34th 
President of the United States in 1952.
  Today, it is my privilege to serve as Chairman of the Eisenhower 
Memorial Commission. Because this memorial honors a Kansan, a war hero, 
and a President the world admires, our good friend and partner, the 
government and people of the Republic of China, has generously made a 
gift to ensure the memory of Dwight D. Eisenhower is preserved for 
generations to come.
  It is fortunate for all that our Taiwanese friends have not forgotten 
President Eisenhower's staunch support for their security and his 
strong commitment to the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. In 1960, President 
Eisenhower made the first official U.S. visit to Taipei to meet with 
President Chiang Kai-shek. As Taiwan's Representative to the United 
States, Dr. Shen has told me, ``President Eisenhower holds a very 
special place in the hearts of the people of Taiwan.''
  It was Eisenhower who signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty 
in 1954. The next year, on the occasion of the passage of the Formosa 
Resolution by the Congress, President Eisenhower further pledged to 
``protect the territories in the Western Pacific under the jurisdiction 
of the Republic of China.'' It was also Eisenhower who dispatched the 
U.S. Seventh Fleet to patrol the Taiwan Strait in the 1950s, thus 
assuring that the people of Taiwan would remain secure from any 
external military threat. Deservedly, a significant portion of 
President Eisenhower's foreign policy legacy is maintaining peace and 
security in the Taiwan Strait.
  In honoring a great general and President, Taiwan has demonstrated an 
unbroken bond of friendship, dating back to World War II. That enduring 
friendship is yet another key element of President Eisenhower's legacy.

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