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“SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 9--RELATING TO A VISIT BY PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON TAIWAN TO THE UNITED STATES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S3539-S3540 on March 6, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 9--RELATING TO A VISIT BY PRESIDENT LEE
TENG-HUI OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON TAIWAN TO THE UNITED STATES
By Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Brown, Mr. Robb, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. Simon, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Helms, Mr. Coats, Mr. Pell, Mr. Warner, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Grams, Mr. Dole, Mr. Kempthorne, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Specter, Mr. Hatfield, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Roth, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Mack, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Conrad, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Gregg, and Mr. Craig) submitted the following concurrent resolution which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Con. Res. 9
Whereas United States diplomatic and economic security interests in East Asia have caused the United States to maintain a policy of recognizing the People's Republic of China while maintaining solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the people of Taiwan;
Whereas the Republic of China on Taiwan (known as Taiwan) is the United States' sixth largest trading partner and an economic powerhouse buying more than twice as much annually from the United States as do the 1,200,000,000 Chinese of the People's Republic of China;
Whereas the American people are eager for expanded trade opportunities with Taiwan, the sixth largest trading partner of the United States and the possessor of the world's second largest foreign exchange reserves;
Whereas the United States interests are served by supporting democracy and human rights abroad;
Whereas Taiwan is a model emerging democracy, with a free press, free elections, stable democratic institutions, and human rights protections;
Whereas vigorously contested elections conducted on Taiwan in December 1994 were extraordinarily free and fair;
Whereas United States interests are best served by policies that treat Taiwan's leaders with respect and dignity;
Whereas President Lee, a Ph.D. graduate of Cornell University, has been invited to pay a private visit to his alma mater and to attend the annual USA-ROC Economic Council Conference in Anchorage, Alaska;
Whereas there is no legitimate policy grounds for excluding the democratic leader of Asia's oldest republic from paying private visits;
Whereas the Senate of the United States voted several times in 1994 to welcome President Lee to visit the United States; and
Whereas Public Law 103-416 provides that the President of Taiwan shall be welcome in the United States at any time to discuss a host of important bilateral issues: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the President should promptly indicate that the United States will welcome a private visit by President Lee Teng-hui to his alma mater, Cornell University, and will welcome a transit stop by President Lee in Anchorage, Alaska, to attend the USA-ROC Economic Council Conference.
Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I am introducing today, on behalf of myself and 35 colleagues, a resolution calling on President Clinton to allow his excellency Lee Teng-hui, President of the Republic of China on Taiwan, to come to the United States for a private visit. A nearly identical resolution is also being introduced today by my colleagues in the House of Representatives, Congressmen Lantos, Solomon, and Torricelli.
This is not the first time this issue has come before this body. The last Congress spoke very clearly on the question of a visit by President Lee. The Senate approved unanimously a resolution offered by myself and Senator Robb calling on the administration to make several changes to United States-Taiwan policy, including allowing President Lee to visit the United States. Then, under Senator Brown's leadership, the Senate agreed by a vote of 94-0 to amend United States immigration laws to add a provision specifically welcoming the leader of the Taiwanese people to enter the United States at any time to discuss issues of mutual concern. This amendment was eventually adopted by the Congress and signed into law.
Unfortunately, up to now, the Clinton Administration has chosen to ignore Congress and yield to the People's Republic of China on this issue. In the last several months, various State Department officials have indicated in public forums that they do not intend to allow President Lee to make a private visit. Mr. President, this State Department policy allows the People's Republic of China to dictate who can and cannot enter the United States--and that offends this Senator and many others.
For many years, Congress and the executive branch have prodded the people of Taiwan to make greater strides toward democracy. Taiwan has responded: Over the last decade, Taiwan has ended martial law, allowed the development of a free and vigorous press, and legalized opposition political parties. Last December, people throughout Taiwan went to the polls in a free and fair election, which was vigorously contested by all parties.
I remind my colleagues that Taiwan is the world's 13th largest trading partner and the United States' 5th largest trading partner. With $17 billion in United States exports to Taiwan in 1994, it purchased twice as many United States products as the People's Republic of China. It holds the world's largest foreign reserves. Taiwan is also friendly, democratic, stable, and prosperous. Its human rights record has steadily improved.
Yet, rather than rewarding Taiwan for these great strides, it remains the policy of the Clinton administration to deny entry into the United States to the democratic leader of Asia's oldest republic; in effect, treating Taiwan like an international pariah. Many of us were outraged last May when the administration refused to allow President Lee to overnight in Hawaii en route to a presidential inauguration in Central America. While we are aware of the need to maintain a productive relationship with the People's Republic of China, there is no defensible argument for allowing Communist bureaucrats in Beijing to block a private visit to the United States by the elected leader of the Taiwanese people.
President Lee, a Ph.D. graduate of Cornell University in New York, has expressed a desire to visit his alma mater. In addition, President Lee has been invited to attend the annual USA-ROC Economic Council Conference in Anchorage, AK. Other Senators and Representatives have invited him to visit their respective States. It would be entirely appropriate to allow one or more of these private visits.
The attached resolution demonstrates the support of the new Congress for democracy movements around the world and our commitment to increased economic ties and people-to-people contacts between the American people and the people of Taiwan. If the administration continues to ignore the voice of Congress, it may be necessary to move further legislation amending United States immigration laws or reopening the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act in order to facilitate these changes.
I urge the administration to reconsider its current position on a visit by President Lee. Certainly, there is ample precedent for allowing a private visit. After all, the administration has
[[Page S3540]] seen the benefit of having Yasser Arafat, leader of the PLO, attend a White House ceremony. Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, has been granted travel visas. Tibet's exile leader, the Dalai Lama, called on Vice President Gore over the strong objections of the People's Republic of China. Each of these men represent unofficial entities with which the United States does not have official ties. Similarly, in each case, other countries with whom we maintain diplomatic relations objected. yet, the administration rightly chose to allow visits to advance other policy goals. A similar rationale should be applied to President Lee.
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