Washington, 10 October 1998
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con.
Res. 334, and I rise thus in support of making it the official
policy of the United States government that we favor the
participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Gilman), the chairman of the committee, for the leadership he
has provided on this. And, of course, the gentleman always provides
the leadership and strength on pro-freedom initiatives and
initiatives that deal with fundamental fairness. I also want to
thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for his
cooperation and leadership on that side of the aisle. And, finally,
I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon), who
has been a fierce fighter for freedom and justice in this world and
in this body. The gentleman will be missed. And on issues just like
this, he has always been there for the people struggling for freedom
in various parts of the world.
Taiwan is, first and foremost, a free and democratic country. In
the last few years we have seen an evolution in Taiwan that should
serve as a shining example to the rest of Asia. In fact, as the rest
of Asia sinks further towards tyranny and repression, Taiwan is
reaching new heights, even in the face of threats against it,
towards achieving its goal of a freer, more democratic, and more
prosperous country. In Taiwan, there are free elections, freedom of
the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and freedom of
enterprise.
This resolution tells the world that freedom counts to the
American people. We should not be on the side of a communist
regime's attempt, wherever it is, to in some way intimidate a group
of free people. That is the situation we have now in Asia, where one
tyrannical government is trying to frighten the people of Taiwan.
And we are saying by this that where people have had these reforms,
we should be siding with those people, who have at least, or would
like to participate in the rest of the free world. And that is what
is going on in Taiwan.
This, on the other hand, sends a message that we respect an
elected government; the elected government in Taiwan. And as I say,
not only has it a good record in terms of their political record and
their economic record, but Taiwan has an admirable record of public
health, which is consistent with any government's commitment to
democracy. The foundation of democracy is the respect that all
individuals have a right to live in dignity and with a decent and
healthy life. So it is consistent, then, that that is what we find
in Taiwan.
I wish to also take this moment to express something that perhaps
some people in this body do not know about. And that is, Taiwan,
with its 21 million people, through private foundations and also
through government action, have been deeply involved with helping
other people who face health crises and humanitarian crises
throughout the world.
Through the TzuChi Foundation, tons and tons of medicines have
been sent to crisis areas throughout Asia. And, in fact, the
Republic of Taiwan and the TzuChi Foundation, they even have a free
clinic in Southern California for everyone. There is a free clinic
that is run by the TzuChi Foundation. These people care about
humanity, and we should salute them today by this resolution and say
they should be part of the World Health Organization. So I salute
Taiwan and the TzuChi Foundation and those good and decent values
those people represent. This resolution is the best way that I can
think of for this Congress to salute that type of commitment to the
ideals that we share as Americans. I rise in support of the
resolution.