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.
“TAIWAN'S SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO FIGHT NARCOTICS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E768 on April 4, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TAIWAN'S SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO FIGHT NARCOTICS
______
HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, April 4, 1995
Mr. RANGEL. Mr Speaker, in August 1993, I had the privilege to attend a Regional Counter Narcotics Conference in Taipei, Republic of China. The conference was held in conjunction with the Republic of China's Ministry of Justice, and was attended personally by Justice Minister, Dr. Ma Ying-jeou. The decision to hold the conference in Taipei, together with Minister Ma's participation, was yet another indication from our friends on Taiwan of the seriousness of their antidrug efforts.
I have just received a letter from Benjamin Lu, the Republic of China's Representative here in the United States, which details some of the further steps undertaken by the Republic of China since the conference. I would like to include it in the Congressional Record, because I feel it is important that such efforts do not go unnoticed here in the Congress. I strongly commend the Republic of China's antinarcotics efforts, and submit the following letter from Representative Lu:
Taipei Economic and
Cultural Representative,
Washington, DC, March 14, 1995.Hon. Charles B. Rangel,U.S. House of Representatives,Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Rangel: I am writing to update you regarding an issue of great importance, international narcotics control. This is also a matter of mutual concern to the United States and my country, the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan.
According to reports released by the Ministry of Justice of the ROC, drug related crimes such as drug abuse, trafficking and money laundering were increasing in the Taiwan area in recent years. However, the ROC government has taken effective measures to put the problems under control, and the achievements were duly noted by American authorities. As commended by the ``International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of 1995'' of the United States Department of State, officially released on March 1, my government has launched nation-wide anti-drug programs and passed harsher laws against traffickers. In addition, although not a member of the United nations, the ROC has introduced ``legislation in conformity with the 1988 UN Convention in the areas of money laundering, precursor chemical controls and `illegal drug' schedules.''
Both the record-breaking volume of drug seizures and an impressive number of offenders indicted in Taiwan in recent years proved that our efforts have been fruitful. The report also noted that ``the Taiwan authorities have mounted a concerted effort to attack the heroin trafficking problem and seizures of heroin have increased rapidly in the past few years. . . '' Nevertheless, a unilateral effort of any country is not enough to win a complete victory against drugs. My government, therefore, has thoroughly cooperated with American as well as other international law enforcement agencies to crackdown on all drug related crimes and will continue to do so. The State report also indicated that, in the last year, the ROC government not only ``continued to cooperate well'' with the Drug Enforcement Agency but also explored with U.S. authorities the possibility of signing a bilateral counternarcotics agreement.
The people and the government of the ROC are as committed as you are to fighting drug problems. We hope you will take note of our strong commitment and vigorous actions on this important matter.
With warmest regards,
Sincerely,
Benjamin Lu,
Representative.
____________________
