Taiwanese-Americans write Feinstein

Over the past years, California Senator Dianne Feinstein has been a major pro-China voice in the U.S. Senate. Through the business dealings of her husband she also benefitted from trade and investment in China. See Taiwan Communiqué, April 1997.

Recently, representatives of the Taiwanese-American community in the Bay Area wrote her the following letter:

Diane Feinstein, Senator
525 Market St. Suite 670
San Francisco, CA 94105

Dear Senator Feinstein:

We, Taiwanese-Americans and other citizens of California have traditionally supported the Democratic Party; we strongly supported you during the 1992 Senatorial race. As an important constituency, we believe that our voice must be heard. We disagree with your stance on two issues: your support of defense trade with China and your stance against the democratic sovereignty for Taiwan. Your position on the sovereignty of Taiwan and your stance on Chinese trade and human rights violation issues is damaging to the international pursuit of human rights.

The Chinese government has proven its aggressive nature, as exemplified by its threats to Asian peace and democratic transformation: China's brutal suppression of the democratic protesters in Tienanmen square in 1989 and heavyhanded use of missile tests to intimidate the Taiwanese as Taiwan attempted to hold free democratic elections in 1996. The Chinese government's cruel acts in Tibet and East Turkestan has provoked the outrage of the international community. Furthermore, China's military weapon trade to the Third World is no longer a secret. Your support of U.S. military trade with China gives the Chinese state the tools to more efficiently violate the human rights of those who cannot defend themselves. We are outraged at your support of military trade with China. This is not merely an Asian issue, it is an international concern.

The twenty-one million people of Taiwan currently have no voice in the United Nations. They strongly desire to be represented in this world organization. As a country, Taiwan has a defined territory, a peace loving population and a democratic government. The logical next step for such a country is international recognition. Your clinging to the "One China" policy hampers the democratic nation in-the-making. We find it repugnant that the United States government would ignore a democracy to expedite relations with a dictatorship. China's military build up of offensive weapons that intimidated Taiwan during Taiwan's first democratic elections in March 1996 clearly violates and blatantly hinders a fledgling nation in democratic transition.

As Californian citizens of the United States, we have elected you into Congress to defend our rights and to represent our views on both domestic and international issues. We feel that your apathy toward human right issues in China and opposition to the sovereignty of Taiwan are not representative of your constituents. During the next Senatorial election, we intend to mobilize the Taiwanese American community as a voting block by issuing s!ate cards. We strongly urge you to reconsider your position.

Sincerely,

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