Poe also claimed that Bush is kowtowing to China: "Any US sale at any time will be objected to by the Chinese Communist regime."
"Should that affect our commitment to the stability of the Taiwan Strait? Are we timid because of China? Likewise, should our defense commitment to Taiwan be held hostage to a clash of personalities, the political season in Taiwan or Washington's desire to accommodate Beijing?" he asked.
Representative Shelley Berkley, a cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, said: "We must give Taiwan arms to defend itself, safeguard its expansion of democracy on that island and in its region in the coming years."
"Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, a trusted ally, a strategic partner of the United States. It is imperative that we signal our support for the world to see that America stands with its fellow democracies and will defend them against any threat of military aggression," she said.
Representative Tom Tancredo called the vote "a clear rebuke" to the Bush administration.
"It demonstrates the growing gulf between the expanded engagement and friendship with Taiwan that Congress wants to see, and the negative and destructive direction in which the State Department bureaucracy is unfortunately dragging the US-Taiwan relationship," he said.
RSS