SUE W. KELLY                                                                                                         PLEASE REPLY To:  

19TH DISTRICT, NEW YORK                                                                                      2182 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
                                                                                                                                 WASHINGTON, DC 20515
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES, VICE CHAIR                                                 (202) 225-5441
CHAIRWOMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON  OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
                    

ASSISTANT MAJORITY WHIP                                                                                    September 9, 2005

Mr. Thomas T. Hwang, Ph.D.

President, FAPA NY Mid-Hudson Chapter

68 Sherwood Heights

Wappingers Falls, New York 12590-3420

Dear Dr. Hwang and Friends:

I write you today to lend my sincere support for the September 13 world rally at Daj HammarskjOld Plaza in Manhattan. I regret that I cannot attend, as I am in Washington serving the people of the 19th district of New York. Nonetheless, your cause and your efforts to achieve Taiwanese admission to the United Nations are both eagerly viewed and encouraged by me and my colleagues in Congress.

It is disappointing to say the least that, to this day, a democratic Taiwan remains ostracized from the United Nations. For more than a decade, Taiwan has advocated and held democratic presidential elections and participated positively as a member of the World Trade Organization, the Asian Development Bank, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and a host of other international organizations. In doing so, the Taiwanese people have shown themselves to possess both the resources and a unique creativity to contribute to the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and other affiliate organizations.

In recent years, Taiwan has expressed an unyielding desire to join both the U.N. and the World Health Organization and Congress has actively supported these efforts.  In 1999 the House of Representatives passed a resolution, with my support, calling on the United States to actively promote Taiwan?s ventures to join the World Health Organization. I continue to asseverate that this impending union is a matter of vital importance to the health of Taiwan?s 23 million citizens, as well as its neighboring countries. In 2001 and 2003, I endorsed legislation expressing the sense of Congress that the United States actively support Taiwan's membership into the U.N., and have communicated this view to American ambassadors since.

Unfortunately, the People?s Republic of China continues to inhibit these mutual efforts. Yet, we must persist and progress our opposition to this egregious and unnecessary oversight until Taiwan is finally and fully accepted into the international community. This world rally is a momentous symbol that Taiwan will continue to move forward in its just endeavor for international equality.

Sincerely,            

Sue Kelly

Member of Congress