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Congress
of the United States
Washington,
DC 20515
May
1, 2002
The
Honorable Richard Armitage
Deputy
Secretary of State
U.S.
Department of State
2201
C street N. W.
Washington,
DC 20520
Dear
Deputy Secretary Armitage:
As the
founding members of the House of Representatives Congressional
Taiwan Caucus, we are concerned about the State Departments
recent report on the United States plan to endorse and obtain
observer status for Taiwan during the annual summit of the
World Health Assembly (WHA).
In the
report, the State Department reiterated the United States
long standing support of appropriate ways for Taiwan to
participate in international organizations, specifically
the World Health Organization (WHO). Unfortunately, the
report does not clearly state the Administration's intention
to publicly support Taiwan in efforts to obtain observer
status during the 2002 WHA.
The
State Department's policy has been to work with Taiwan,
China, WHO officials, and key interested parties to ensure
a smooth process and a fair hearing for Taiwan's bid.
However, the report does not offer any insight as to the
steps the United States will be taking to work with Taiwan
and other WHA members states to achieve this goal. Taiwanese
officials have recently expressed their willingness to be
classified as a public health entity, a classification
similar to the one Taiwan uses in its membership in the
World Trade Organization. We believe this recent development
alters the dynamics of the Taiwanese observer status debate,
and may require the state department to reevaluate its approach
to the issue.
We greatly
appreciate your role and that of President Bush in advocating
and securing Taiwan's accession to the WTO. We hope that
you are equally committed to Taiwan's participation as an
observer or public health entity in the WHO, and will ensure
that the United States introduces a resolution to that effect
during the WHA summit. We also respectfully request a meeting
with you to clarify the state department's plan for the
upcoming WHA. We will contact you to arrange a meeting.
We look
forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Sherrod
Brown, Steve Chabot, Robert Wexler, Dana Rohrabacher
Cc.:
President
George W. Bush
The
Honorable Colin Powell
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