Taiwan supporters in the US Congress are preparing to introduce a sweeping resolution in support of Taiwan when they reassemble later this month after an extended year-end holiday break.
Prospects for such a bill have unnerved China, prompting its US ambassador last month to send a letter to all members of Congress urging them to reject the planned legislation.
The resolution will endorse President Chen Shui-bian's (
The measure will be based on a bill approved nearly unanimously by the House of Representatives in July 1998 in response to then president Bill Clinton's declaration of his "three noes" policy during a visit to Shanghai the previous month.
Many in Washington at the time felt that Clinton's declaration marked a sharp departure in America's underlying support for Taiwan and a basic shift in US policy.
The "three noes" rejected Taiwan independence, a "one China, one Taiwan" policy and Taiwan membership in international bodies requiring statehood for membership.
The planned bill will respond to President George W. Bush's public personal rebuke of Chen and his referendum plan after his Dec. 9 White House meeting with visiting Chinese premier Wen Jiabao (
That statement, many Taiwan backers in Washington -- including Bush's conservative supporters -- felt, marked an unsavory accommodation of Beijing's wishes at the expense of Taiwan. Many saw parallels between Bush's and Clinton's pronouncements.
What will be different from the 1998 resolution will be a statement of support for the referendum and the condemnation of the Chinese missile buildup across the Strait from Taiwan, which were not present as issues in 1998.
While the wording of the planned referendum is not yet finalized, the 1998 measure recognized that at no time since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949 has Taiwan been under its control.
It affirmed US commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, called for settlement of cross-strait relations by peaceful means, committed Washington to supply Taiwan with arms sufficient for its self defense, sought a renunciation of the use of force by China and supported Taiwan's membership in international organizations. The 1998 bill also referred to Taiwan as "one of the world's premier democracies."
In addition to the planned resolution, a separate resolution introduced last November in support of the referendum is now before the House International Relations Committee, but it's fate is uncertain.
In his letter, dated Dec. 30, Chinese Ambassador Yang Jiechi (
He said the bill "runs counter to the relevant commitment of the United States Government" in its "one China" policy, and its commitments in the three US-China communiques.
"Facts have shown," Yang wrote, "that Chen Shui-bian is a trouble-maker. He cares about nothing but his own political agenda, ie `Taiwan independence' and his own re-election."
The letter appears to be unprecedented. No previous Chinese ambassador is known to have made such a direct lobbying effort to Congress to reject a legislative initiative involving Taiwan.
Yang also made reference to a possible meeting with members of Congress, but the Chinese Embassy's spokesman, Sun Weide (
Meanwhile, a group of House members are expected to clarify US policy toward Taiwan when they visit Taipei next week to attend an international parliamentary exchange meeting that is expected to bring legislators from some 50 countries to the city.
Florida Democrat Robert Wexler, a co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, will lead the group and will present an address to the assembly at a luncheon with Vice President Annette Lu on Wednesday. In addition to Wexler, Ohio Republican Steve Chabot, another caucus co-chairman, will be part of the delegation, as will Gary Acker-man, a New York Democrat.
Congress reconvenes on Jan. 20.
Also see story:
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique