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United
States Senate
Washington
DC 20510
March
14, 2001
The
Honorable George W. Bush
The
President
The
White House
Washington,
DC 20500
Dear
Mr. President:
We are
writing with regard to the upcoming World Health Assembly
meeting in Geneva this May, and specifically, your Administration’s
policy toward Taiwan’s participation in the World Health
Organization (WHO). We believe that this is an area where
a review of past policy deserves consideration.
As you
are aware, over the past several years Congress has overwhelmingly
passed numerous pieces of legislation supporting Taiwan’s
meaningful participation in the WHO and her membership in
international organizations that accept non-states as members.
While we fully recognize and understand the importance of
sovereignty and statehood concerns as they relate to participation
in international organizations, we believe that such concerns
should not be used to deny the 23 million people of Taiwan
access to the highest possible international health standards
and practices.
We urge
you, therefore, to take the appropriate steps to support
Taiwan’s participation in the WHO as an observer during
the next World Health Assembly meeting. The primary objective
of the WHO, after all, is "the attainment by all peoples
of the highest possible level of health." It is our
concern that until the United States is willing to stand
up and take the lead on this important issue, "all
peoples," at least as the WHO defines it, will continue
to exclude the people of Taiwan. Only through the United
States’ leadership can we ensure that no people are left
behind in the pursuit of the highest standards of health
because of the political limitations of international organizations
of which the United States is a party.
Sincerely,
Frank
Murkowski (R-AK)-- Initiated
Tom
Daschle (D-SD)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Herb
Kohl (D-WI)
Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Jay
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Robert
Torricelli (D-NJ)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Max
Baucus (D-MT)
Robert Smith (R-NH)
Tim
Johnson (D-SD)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Russ
Feingold (D-WI)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
Max
Cleland (D-GA)
John Kyl (R-AZ)
Joe
Biden (D-DE)
Tim Hutchinson (R-AR)
John
Breaux (D-LA)
Mike DeWine (R-OH)
Richard
Durbin (D-IL)
Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
John
Edwards (D-NC)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Mary
Landrieu (D-LA)
Jesse Helms (R-NC)
Wayne Allard (R-CO)
John Warner (R-VA)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Charles Grassley (R-IA)
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