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Congress
of the United States
Washington,
DC 20515
December
9, 2003
The
Honorable George W. Bush
President,
United States of America
The
White House
Washington,
DC 20500
Dear
Mr. President:
We applaud your efforts to engage the People's Republic of
China (PRC), and look forward to Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to
Washington, DC on December 9, 2003.
During the Premier's visit, we respectfully urge you to
affirm our long-standing support for Taiwan's movement toward
democratic governance. It has been, and always shall be, America's
policy to support democracy, human rights, and the rule of law
everywhere in the world. Whether it is a policy convenient to our
statecraft at the time or not, the policy expresses a fundamentally
American value.
In anticipation of Premier Wen's visit to Washington, we
believe it is important to reaffirm our commitment to Taiwan's
ability to hold free and fair elections.
It is equally important that the people on both sides of the
Taiwan Strait resolve the island's political status peacefully and
democratically.
While
we expressly reserve our judgment for or against Taiwan independence
as an issue internal to Taiwan and China,
it is the basic right of a democratic people to determine its own
future.
As
Americans are pushing for, bleeding for, and dying for the expansion
of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot afford to compromise
the exercise of democracy in Taiwan or anywhere else in the world.
Thank you for your kind consideration to this important
matter. The freedom of
a free people, and the liberation of those not yet free, are never
to be taken lightly. We hope that you will remain consistent in
promoting both fundamental American values, and international
standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
With warm regards,
David
Wu (D-OR),
Steve Chabot (R-OH) ,
Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Peter
Deutsch (D-FL) ,
Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Lane Evans (D-IL),
Shelly Berkley (D-NV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI),
Robert Wexler (D-FL),
Peter King (D-NY), Jo Ann Emerson (D-MO) |
