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The Dialogue
of Democracies: Today and Next January
FAPA News Release
July 23, 2002
The
Congressional Taiwan Caucus (CTC) and a thirty-five
Member strong Taiwan Legislative Yuan (LY) delegation meeting
of July 23rd marks a distinctive “dialogue of
democracies” meant to further understanding between the
oldest democracy and one of the newest members of the democracy
club.
The
LY delegation, the largest ever to visit the United States,
came to Washington to thank the CTC members for their strong
support, to discuss matters of mutual interest, and to publicly
announce a January 2003 International Inter-Parliamentary
Conference on Asian Pacific Security, to be held in Taipei.
The
CTC expressed its thanks for the Taiwanese delegation’s
invitation to the conference and will actively participate
in this event.
The
CTC, established on April 9th, now has 112 members.
It is one of the largest and fastest growing caucuses
in the United States Congress. Today’s
luncheon is the first such big gathering for the caucus
members, among those participating are Rep. Ben Gilman (R-NY),
the ex-chairman of the House International Relations Committee,
and the Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman, Rep. Eddie
Burnice Johnson (D-TX).
“At
this important juncture in history, today’s meeting has
helped strengthen the bonds between the US and Taiwan,”
stated Dr. Wu Ming-chi, FAPA President. “Strong bonds between
democracies are clearly the backbone of a serious anti-terrorism
campaign.
The Taipei conference will extend this mutually supportive
network throughout the Pacific region.
The interests of the U.S., Taiwan and all the democracies
in the Pacific are well served by today’s meeting and will
be served by the January conference.
“The
conference next January aims to create dialogue among the
countries involved,” Wu continued, “enhance understanding
and communications, and thus diminish conflicts in the region.
Moreover,
FAPA believes that next January’s conference will give Taiwan
an excellent opportunity to fulfill its proactive diplomatic
strategy in the face of the PRC’s diplomatic blockade and
will ultimately show the world Taiwan’s willingness and
sincerity in maintaining the stability and security of the
Asia-Pacific region.”
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