The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HONORING TAIWAN'S AMBASSADOR JAUSIEH ``JOSEPH'' WU” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1242 on June 17, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING TAIWAN'S AMBASSADOR JAUSIEH ``JOSEPH'' WU
______
HON. THOMAS G. TANCREDO
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Taiwan's Ambassador to the United States, Jausieh ``Joseph'' Wu.
Prior to entering politics, Ambassador Wu was an academic, completing his Ph.D. in political science in 1989 at Ohio State University. After serving as a teacher in the political science department at Ohio State, he became deputy director of the Institute of International Relations at Taiwan's National Chengchi University.
When the landmark election of President Chen Shui-Bian in 2000 officially put an end to one-party authoritarian rule in Taiwan, Ambassador Wu left academia to serve his country in government.
He was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Office, and in 2004 he was tapped by President Chen to head the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan, the government body in charge of coordinating bilateral state-to-state relations with the People's Republic of China. Wu performed admirably in this position despite unprecedented threats and belligerence from China designed to undermine President Chen's efforts in Taiwan to expand and deepen its young democracy. Much to the dismay of the Chinese, however, the people of Taiwan resisted this pressure--successfully amending their National Constitution and holding the nation's first democratic referendum.
In 2007, Ambassador Wu was appointed to his current position as Taiwan's Ambassador in Washington, a position nearly as important as the post of Foreign Minister. His invaluable experience as Mainland Affairs Council chief gave him a keen understanding of the Chinese military threat to Taiwan and U.S. interests in the region and around the world--knowledge that made him an ideal choice for this important post. His appointment as Ambassador was also an historic event for Taiwan, as Ambassador Wu became the first non-Kuomintang Ambassador from Taiwan to the United States.
During his time as Ambassador to the United States, Wu served with the same professionalism and diligence as he did in his prior positions. Ambassador Wu and his staff have worked tirelessly to improve Taiwan's traditionally solid relationship with Congress and helped to strengthen the bilateral U.S.-Taiwan relationship--a relationship based on our shared values and our commitment to democracy.
Ambassador Wu has always gone to great lengths to improve mutual understanding and open lines of communication between the United States and Taiwan. During his tenure, the U.S. House of Representatives reciprocated that goodwill by moving to scrap antiquated and arbitrary, 1970's-era State Department restrictions on communications between high-ranking U.S. and Taiwanese officials.
I sincerely hope that the Senate will follow suit so that in the not-
too-distant future, the President of the United States can meet with the democratically elected President of Taiwan the same way he meets with the unelected dictator of the People's Republic of China.
Madam Speaker, Ambassador Wu is an exceptional diplomat and a dedicated statesman. He is also my friend. I deeply appreciate his efforts to bring our two countries closer together, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
____________________
