In another congressional effort to prod US President George W. Bush to unfreeze the sale of major weapons packages to Taiwan, more than two dozen members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus on Thursday sent Bush a letter urging him to allow the sales to go through.
Spearheaded by caucus co-chairmen Steve Chabot and Shelley Berkley, both of whom conferred with visiting Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) this week, the lawmakers pledged to help the administration process the sales as soon as possible after the White House and State Department lift the freeze.
“We believe the freeze on foreign military sales to Taiwan violates the spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act. We request a briefing on the status of these sales from all appropriate agencies, and urge the administration to expeditiously execute consideration of these requests,” the letter said.
Citing China’s rapid escalation in military spending and modernization, much of which the Pentagon has identified as aimed at Taiwan, the letter said: “The military and strategic imperatives for Taiwan are real and urgent, and if we fail to show the necessary resolve it would mean missing a significant opportunity to improve cross-strait peace and security, a vital US interest.”
A similar letter was sent to Bush by 14 senators, many of whom are members of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, on June 30.
As for the earlier letter, the latest communication owes much of its existence to the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a pro-independence group based in Washington that lobbies Congress on behalf of Taiwan’s interests.
FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) welcomed the lawmakers’ letter, saying “any arms freeze is a clear violation of the law [the Taiwan Relations Act] and needs to be lifted immediately.”
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