House Resolution on Consent of the People for Change of Status of Taiwan

FAPA sent this around:

+++++++++++++

U.S. Representative introduces legislation:

Future of Taiwan should be determined with the express consent of the people of Taiwan

House Armed Services Committee member and a long-time friend of Taiwan, Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ), introduced House Concurrent Resolution 200 “expressing the sense of Congress regarding the freedom, security, and stability of Taiwan” last night.

The resolution concludes that it is the sense of Congress that--

(1) grave concerns exist concerning the continued deployment by the People's Republic of China of over 1400 ballistic missiles directed toward Taiwan, which threaten the security and stability in the Taiwan Strait;

(2) the President should seek a public and unequivocal renunciation from the leaders of the People's Republic of China of any threat or use of force against Taiwan;

(3) the future of Taiwan should be determined free from coercion by the People's Republic of China, peacefully, and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan.

The resolution highlights China's coercion and increasing military threat against Taiwan and refers to the latest Pentagon report on the Chinese military power and to the passage by China of the anti-secession law in 2005 that drew a severe rebuke from the U.S. Congress.

The 2009 Pentagon Report warns that the People's Liberation Army's military modernization "could in the future be used to pressure Taiwan toward a settlement of the cross-Strait dispute on Beijing's terms while simultaneously attempting to deter, delay, or deny any possible U.S. support for the island in case of conflict."

The House of Representatives characterized the China's passage of the Anti-Secession Law at the time as "a unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait."

The resolution also invokes pertinent sections of the Taiwan Relations Act, "which is the cornerstone of United States-Taiwan relations," which reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Taiwan's security.

FAPA President Bob Yang, Ph.D. states, "The fact that Rep. Andrews is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee adds to the relevance and importance of this resolution. Taiwan's security interests are intricately interwoven with those of the U.S. in the region."

Yang continues, "In addition to the military threat, China is now also gaining tremendous economic leverage over Taiwan. China's dual strategy of economic and military coercion to compel Taiwan into submission has alarmed many Taiwan supporters in the U.S. Congress.

Dr. Yang concludes: "The missiles that China has targeted at the 23 million peace-loving people of Taiwan are the equivalent of China putting a gun to the heads of the people of Taiwan. They are the clearest and strongest indicator of China's real intentions vis-à-vis Taiwan. The people of Taiwan live under a constant dark cloud of threats, intimidation and harassment. It is not only high time that Beijing remove its missiles, it is time that the people of Taiwan be able to determine their own future free from fear."

*****

111TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 200
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the freedom, security, and stability of Taiwan.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. ANDREWS submitted the following concurrent resolution

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the freedom, security, and stability of Taiwan.

Whereas for over half a century a close relationship has existed between the United States and Taiwan, and such relationship has been of enormous economic, cultural, and strategic advantage to both countries;

Whereas the United States has vital security and strategic interests in the Taiwan Strait, with United States troops stationed in countries within the Taiwan Strait region;

Whereas the security of the 23,000,000 people in Taiwan is threatened by the deployment by the People's Republic of China of over 1400 short and medium-range ballistic missiles targeted at Taiwan;

Whereas the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China passed an anti-secession law on March 14, 2005, which was subsequently condemned by the United States House of Representatives in House Concurrent Resolution 98, passed by the House of Representatives on March 16, 2005;

Whereas such resolution states that the anti-secession law seeks ‘‘to create a legal framework for possible use of force against Taiwan'' and that it constitutes ‘‘a unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait'';

Whereas a 2009 Pentagon report on the military power of the People's Republic of China states that ‘‘[t]he PLA's modernization vis-a`-vis Taiwan has continued over the past year, including its build-up of short-range missiles opposite the island'', and that ‘‘[i]n the near-term, China's armed forces are rapidly developing coercive capabilities for the purpose of deterring Taiwan's pursuit of de jure independence'';

Whereas such report also states that ‘‘[t]hese same capabilities could in the future be used to pressure Taiwan toward a settlement of the cross-Strait dispute on Beijing's terms while simultaneously attempting to deter, delay, or deny any possible U.S. support for the island in case of conflict'';

Whereas the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, in the 2009 Annual Threat Assessment of the Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, stated that ‘‘[p]reparations for a possible Taiwan conflict continue to drive the modernization goals of the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese defense industrial complex'';

Whereas section 2(b)(4) of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301(b)(4)), which is the cornerstone of United States-Taiwan relations, declares that it is the policy of the United States ‘‘to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, is a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States''; and

Whereas section 2(b)(6) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 3301(b)(6)) declares it the policy of the United States ‘‘to maintain the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan'': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—

(1) grave concerns exist concerning the continued deployment by the People's Republic of China of over 1400 ballistic missiles directed toward Taiwan, which threaten security and stability in the Taiwan Strait;

(2) the President of the United States should seek a public and unequivocal renunciation from the leaders of the People's Republic of China of any threat or use of force against Taiwan; and

(3) the future of Taiwan should be determined free from coercion by the People's Republic of
China, peacefully, and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan.

_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!