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CTC
CO-CHAIRS TO CHEN SHUI-BIAN - "UNBREAKABLE BOND BETWEEN
OUR TWO PEOPLES"
For
immediate release
May 20, 2002
In
a May 17, congratulatory
letter to President Chen Shui-bian on the occasion of the
second anniversary of his inauguration, Congressional Taiwan
Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Robert Wexler (D-FL), Steve Chabot
(R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA),
noted the "unbreakable bond between our two peoples"
and pledged "a renewed effort to support Taiwan's bid
to obtain observer status at the World Health Organization,
upgrading overall trade relations, the continuation of high-level
meetings between American and Taiwanese cabinet members
and a concerted effort to reinvigorate cross-strait talks
to help preserve peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
The
CTC co-chairs praised Chen's "commitment to the political
and economic success of the people of Taiwan," called
for an "upgrading and expanding of our trade and economic
relationship," and said they "fully support"
Chen's "recent decision to improve cross-strait relations."
The
co-chairs also stated that "although we are working
to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, U.S.
policy must state, in no uncertain terms, that the future
of Taiwan must be resolved peacefully with the express consent
of the people of Taiwan and free from outside threats, intimidation,
or interference."
FAPA
President Wu Ming-chi states: AThe
purpose of the establishment of the CTC is to enhance the
relationship between Taiwan and the US. The CTC has been
crucial in working on issues such as WHO membership for
Taiwan and hi-level visits. But most importantly, the CTC
supports the notion that the future of Taiwan should have the express consent of the people
of Taiwan - an issue that FAPA has been advocating for the
past 20 years. Overall, looking at what the Caucus has done
just in six weeks, we have high expectations on the role
the Caucus will play in US-Taiwan relations.@
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