Taiwan Communiqué No. 67, August 1995

Report from Washington

House holds hearing on Taiwan's entry into the UN

On 3 August 1995 the International Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on UN membership for Taiwan. The following witnesses participated: Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY), Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and the Pacific Kent Wiedemann of the State Department, Mr. John Bolton, Mr. Harvey Feldman, Mr. Shaw Yu-ming, and Professor Parris Chang, the DPP-legislator who heads the DPP office in Washington DC.

The hearing was chaired by Benjamin Gilman (R-NY). It first heard testimony from Representative Gerald Solomon, who -- together with Rep. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) -- introduced H.CON.RES.63 in the beginning of April stating that "It is the Sense of Congress that 1) Taiwan deserves full participation, including a seat, in the United Nations and its related agencies; and 2) the Government of the United States should immediately encourage the United Nations to take action 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.

Mr. Kent Wiedemann of the Department of State told the Committee that the U.S. will sell Patriots to Taiwan. He said that the recent Chinese missile tests were "unwelcome, disturbing and a dangerous development."

Former Ambassador Harvey Feldman stressed that "Taiwan is a state", and "Taiwan fulfills all conditions for statehood and consequently Taiwan fulfills all conditions for membership in the UN." He said that he supported Resolution 63. He reminded the Committee that China only contributes 8 million dollars annually to the UN.

Former KMT Government Information Office spokesman Shaw Yu-ming told the Committee that "if Taiwan becomes a member of the UN, the US will not be solely responsible for Taiwan's safety and security based on the Taiwan Relations Act, but that the international community would collectively be responsible in case of Chinese harassment."

And finally, DPP Legislator Parris Chang reminded the Committee that Taiwan is a de facto independent country and that -- as such -- the 21 million people of Taiwan want to join the international community in general and the United Nations in particular.