Taiwan lobbyists worried over US senator's illness

Taiwan's in Washington, David Lee (李大維), has expressed his get-well wishes to Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, a co-chairman of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, who was hospitalized on Wednesday after suffering bleeding in his brain stemming from a rare disorder involving tangled cerebral arteries.

Pro-Taiwan in Washington and elsewhere are planning to follow suit tomorrow, when they meet to discuss Johnson's illness.

Lee, the nation's de-facto ambassador to the US, sent a letter and flowers to Johnson on Thursday, soon after learning of the senator's illness.

The letter expressed Lee's "great concern" over Johnson's condition and Lee and his wife's wishes for Johnson's speedy recovery. Lee also asked to visit Johnson in the hospital, but staffers in the senator's office said it would not be"appropriate" at this time, according to an official at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

At the same time, the Washington-based Taiwan congressional lobbying group, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), plans to send flowers and a get well card to Johnson tomorrow, signed by 72 of FAPA's 99 board members, according to a FAPA spokesman.

The FAPA will also be conferring with associations of Taiwanese across the country to join in expressing their concern and wishes for Johnson's recovery.

Johnson's has consumed the attention of Washington, since his disability might reverse the stunning Democratic takeover of the Senate in last month's congressional elections.

In the elections, the Democrats picked up six seats to take a 51-49 edge over the Republicans after four years of Republican control.

If Johnson were unable to assume his seat, the result would be a 50-50 split, with Vice President Dick Cheney, who serves as Senate president, having the deciding vote, effectively putting control back in Republican hands.

That would allow the Republicans to elect the Senate leadership and organize the new Senate, giving it the power to decide which bills and issues advance, and which languish.

For Taiwan, Johnson's fate has an added dimension.

Johnson one of two co-chairman of the Caucus, which was formed in September 2003 and now has 25 members, one-quarter of the total Senate membership. The other co-chairman is Virginia Republican George Allen, who was defeated in his re-election campaign last month.

If Johnson remains incapacitated, Taiwan's supporters in Congress and its lobbyists could be faced with the task of finding two people, one Democrat and one Republican, to lead the organization in the 110th Congress beginning on Jan. 4. The caucus is a bipartisan organization.

One Senator who jumps out as an obvious choice to replace Johnson is Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the leading advocate in Congress of Taiwan's participation in the WHO and its World Health Assembly held annually in Geneva in May.

Brown, a co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus as a Representative, won election to the Senate last month, and has been eyed by Taiwan lobbyists as a big addition to Taiwan's clout in the upper chamber.

On the Republican side, Jon Kyl of Arizona is seen as a likely favorite of Taiwan lobbyists, but it is not known whether he has been approached to take the post, and if he has been asked, what his response has been.

But FAPA and other Taiwan lobbyists, who play a key role in picking caucus leadership, say they will wait until the next Congress convenes next year before trying to organize the next caucus membership.