Mr. SOLOMON (for himself and Mr. LANTOS) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations.
Whereas Taiwan has the 19th largest gross national product in the
world, a strong and vibrant economy, and one of the largest foreign
exchange reserves of any nation;
Whereas Taiwan has dramatically improved its record on human
rights and routinely holds free and fair elections in a multiparty
system, as evidenced most recently by the March 1996 presidential
election and the December 1995 parliamentary elections;
Whereas the 21 million people in Taiwan have not been represented
in the United Nations since 1971 and their human rights as citizens
of the world have therefore been severely abridged;
Whereas Taiwan has in recent years repeatedly expressed its
strong desire to participate in the United Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has much to contribute to the work and funding of
the United Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has demonstrated its commitment to the world
community by responding to international disasters and crises such
as environmental destruction in the Persian Gulf and famine in
Rwanda by providing financial donations, medical assistance, and
other forms of aid;
Whereas the world community has reacted positively to Taiwan's
desire for international participation, as shown by Taiwan's
continued membership in the Asian Development Bank, the admission of
Taiwan into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group as a full
member, and the accession of Taiwan as an observer at the World
Trade Organization as the first step toward becoming a contracting
party to that organization;
Whereas the United States has supported Taiwan's participation in
these bodies and indicated, in its policy review of September 1994,
a stronger and more active policy of support for Taiwan's
participation in other international organizations;
Whereas in 1996 the European Parliament passed, and the United
States House of Representatives endorsed, a resolution urging
support for Taiwan's attempts to secure better representation in
international organizations;
Whereas Taiwan has repeatedly stated that its participation in
international organizations is one of parallel representation
without prejudice to the current status of Mainland China in the
international community and does not represent a challenge to that
status;
Whereas the United Nations and other international organizations
have established precedents concerning parallel representation, such
as the cases of South Korea and North Korea and the former two
Germanies; and
Whereas the decision of the United States to establish diplomatic
relations with Mainland China, as expressed in the Taiwan Relations
Act (Public Law 96-8), is based `upon the expectation that the
future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means';
Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of
Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the
sense of the Congress that--
- Taiwan deserves full participation, including a seat, in the
United Nations and its related agencies; and
- the Government of the United States should immediately
encourage the United Nations to take action by considering the
unique situation of Taiwan in the international community and
adopting a comprehensive solution to accommodate Taiwan in the
United Nations and its related agencies.
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