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Reaffirming
unwavering commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act, and for
other purposes.
Whereas
April 10, 2004, marked the 25th anniversary of the enactment
of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.),
codifying in law the basis for continued commercial, cultural,
and other relations between the United States and Taiwan;
Whereas
it is and will continue to be United States policy to further
encourage and expand these extensive commercial, cultural, and
other relations between the people of the United States and
the people of Taiwan during the next quarter century;
Whereas
since its enactment in 1979 the Taiwan Relations Act has been
instrumental in maintaining peace, security, and stability in
the Taiwan Strait;
Whereas
when the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted, it affirmed that
the decision of the United States to establish diplomatic
relations with the People's Republic of China was based on the
expectation that the future of Taiwan would be determined by
peaceful means;
Whereas
the Government of the People's Republic of China refuses to
renounce the use of force against Taiwan;
Whereas
the Department of Defense report entitled `Annual Report on
the Military Power of the People's Republic of China,' dated
July 30, 2003, documents that the Government of the People's
Republic of China is seeking coercive military options to
resolve the Taiwan issue and, as of the date of the report,
has deployed approximately 450 short-range ballistic missiles
against Taiwan and is adding 75 missiles per year to this
arsenal;
Whereas
the escalating arms buildup of missiles and other offensive
weapons by the People's Republic of China in areas adjacent to
the Taiwan Strait is a threat to the peace and security of the
Western Pacific area;
Whereas
section 3 of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3302)
requires that the United States Government will make available
defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may
be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient
self-defense capability;
Whereas
the Taiwan Relations Act requires the United States to
maintain the capacity to resist any resort to force or other
forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the
social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan;
Whereas
the Taiwan Relations Act affirms the preservation and
enhancement of the human rights of the people of Taiwan as an
objective of the United States;
Whereas
Taiwan serves as a model of democratic reform for the People's
Republic of China;
Whereas
Taiwan's 1996 election was the first time in five millennia of
recorded Chinese history that a democratically elected
president took office;
Whereas
Taiwan's democracy has deepened with a peaceful transfer of
power from one political party to another after the
presidential election of 2000;
Whereas
the relationship between the United States and Taiwan has
deepened with Taiwan's evolution into a full-fledged,
multi-party democracy that respects human rights and civil
liberties;
Whereas
high-level visits between government officials of the United
States and Taiwan are not inconsistent with the `one China
policy'; and
Whereas
any attempt to determine Taiwan's future by other than
peaceful means and other than with the express consent of the
people of Taiwan would be considered of grave concern to the
United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved
by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That--
(1)
Congress reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the Taiwan
Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) as the cornerstone of
United States relations with Taiwan;
(2)
the military modernization and weapons procurement program of
the People's Republic of China is a matter of grave concern,
and particularly the current deployment of approximately 500
missiles directed toward Taiwan;
(3)
the President should direct all appropriate United States
Government officials to raise these grave concerns regarding
military threats to Taiwan with officials of the Government of
the People's Republic of China;
(4)
the President and Congress should determine whether the
escalating arms buildup, including deployment of offensive
weaponry and missiles in areas adjacent to the Taiwan Strait,
requires that additional defense articles and services be made
available to Taiwan, and the United States Government should
encourage the leadership of Taiwan to devote sufficient
financial resources to the defense of their island;
(5)
as recommended by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission, the Department of Defense should provide a
comprehensive report on the nature and scope of military sales
by the Russian Federation to the People's Republic of China to
the Committees on International Relations and Armed Services
of the House of Representatives and Committees on Foreign
Relations and Armed Services of the Senate;
(6)
the President should encourage further dialogue between
democratic Taiwan and the People's Republic of China; and
(7)
the United States Government should not discourage current
officials of the Taiwan Government from visiting the United
States on the basis that doing so would violate the `one China
policy'.
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