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The
Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Powell:
We are writing to seek
your personal assistance with an issue that ranks as a top
international relations priority for our friends in Taiwan as well
as the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
As you are undoubtedly
aware, the 107th Congress passed P.L.107-158, legislation that
called upon the State Department to issue a report to Congress on
its efforts in behalf of furthering the goal of obtaining World
Health Organization (WHO) observer status for Taiwan at the annual
World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva.
As you may recall, many
Members of Congress were disappointed with the State Department's
effort to assist Taiwan in its goal to obtain observer status at
last years WHA in Geneva. This congressional disappointment was
expressed to Deputy Assistant Secretary Donald W. Keyser in a
meeting with the Congressional Taiwan Caucus members shortly after
the work of the WHA was completed; in addition this message was also
sent directly to your office by the former Chairman of the
International Relations Committee, Representative Ben Gilman,
in a letter dated May 9,
2002.
Mr. Secretary, we hope
that the United States strongly supports Taiwan's efforts to obtain
observer status in the WHA. We believe that several of the obstacles
to Taiwan's candidacy, as contained in the State Department's report
to Congress, is not helpful in moving this issue forward. Please
know we are all aware of the obstacles placed in our path due to
Beijing's continued opposition to Taiwan's inclusion in the WHO and
other international institutions.
The United States must
have the courage of its conviction to fully support Taiwan's effort
to obtain observer status at the WHA and state unequivocally before
the delegates on the floor of the Assembly that we believe Taiwan's
membership is both proper and just. We share the concerns of our
colleagues in Congress over the level of our commitment to the
people of Taiwan.
We also find support for
Taiwan's observer status in the WHO a concrete means of expressing
our nation's gratitude for the generous response of the people of
Taiwan to the victims of the September 11 attacks and the war on
terror, for providing humanitarian assistance to the people of
Afghanistan, and for contributing to the global campaign to address
infectious diseases. Over the past year, Taiwan has taken the lead
in addressing pressing global health issues, including the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. Even though they are not a member of the WHO, the
government of Taiwan recently donated $1 million to the newly
established Global Fund to fight AIDS, Turberculosis and Malaria.
Mr. Secretary, the clock
is again ticking toward the WHA next spring. We understand that the
organizational meeting, where agenda items are determined for the
WHA, will take place shortly.
Taiwan, in choosing to
seek only observer status in the WHO, along with such
nongovernmental agencies as Rotary International, has removed
statehood as an issue from the table. Taiwan can be admitted as
"a public health entity" similar to its WTO admission as a
"separate customs territory," which Beijing favored in its
own commercial interest.
Given these new
realities, we believe that the United States must take a more
proactive approach if we are to advance Taiwan's interests and avoid
the pitfalls of last spring. What we seek is a commitment from the
State Department, Mr. Secretary, that instructions be given to the
delegation to the WHA to make a clear and uncompromising declaration
of U.S. support for Taiwan's candidacy for observer status on the
floor of the WHA itself, before the assembled delegates. We have
received every indication that if the United States would step
forward in this regard, others -- starting with the Japanese
delegation -- would be emboldened to publicly express their own
support for the proposal.
Mr. Secretary, we look
forward to a response at your earliest convenience to this issue,
which is of great concern to many Members of Congress and to the
Taiwan Caucus. In addition, we would like to set up a meeting with
you as soon as possible to discuss the Administration's strategy to
support Taiwan's effort to obtain observer status at the upcoming
WHA.
Thank you for your
assistance. We look forward to hearing from your office to schedule
a meeting concerning this important issue.
Sincerely,
Members of the
Congressional Taiwan Caucus
01.
Robert
Wexler
02. Steve
Chabot
03. Sherrod Brown
04. Dana
Rohrabacher
05. Gary
Ackerman
06. Sam Graves
07. David
Wu
08. Eliot
Engel
09. Alcee Hastings
10. Rob
Andrews
11. Marcy Kaptur
12. Mike McNulty
13. Joe
Hoeffel
14. Anthony
Weiner
15. Danny Davis
16. Charlie
Gonzalez
17. Shelley
Berkley
18. Howard Berman
19. Peter
Deutsch
20. Mark Souder
21. Peter King
22. Pete
Stark
23. Marilyn Musgrave
24. Joe Crowley
25. Mark
Kirk
26. Ed
Schrock
27. Virgil Goode
28. Sue
Kelly
29. Jerry
Costello
30. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
31. Cliff
Stearns
32. Mike
Honda
33. Tom Lantos
34. Jay Inslee
35. James Langevin
36. Maurice Hinchey
37. Steve
Rothman
38. Patrick
Kennedy
39. Jo Ann Davis
40. Frank Pallone
41. John
Linder
42. Curt Weldon
43. Pete
Sessions
44. Dennis Moore
45. Chris Cox
46. Solomon Ortiz
47. Charles
Taylor
48. Dan Burton
49.
Michael Bilirakis
50. Nita Lowey
51. Mike Ross
52. Walter
Jones
53. Loretta
Sanchez
54. Henry Waxman
55. Lincoln Diaz-Balart
56. Joe
Barton
57. Ciro Rodriguez
58. Richard
Burr
59. Albert
Wynn
60. Julia Carson
61. John Doolittle
62. Marion Berry
63. Todd Tiahrt
64. Rick Larsen
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