Expressing the sense of Congress regarding high level visits to the United States by democratically-elected officials of Taiwan.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 136) expressing the sense of Congress regarding high level visits to the United States by democratically-elected officials of Taiwan, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I would first like to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for introducing this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, Taiwan was once a politically backward, authoritarian state

living under the cloud of martial law and serious human rights abuses. In the matter of a few short decades, it has transformed itself into a thriving and energetic democracy that is a shining beacon for human rights all over the Asian-Pacific region.

Based on our mutual commitment to freedom and democracy, the U.S.- Taiwan relationship has blossomed in step with Taiwan's own revolution. Our two nations now share a complex web of economic, political and strategic ties that only deepen over time.

A fundamental element of our burgeoning relationship is our people- to-people ties. With open arms, we have welcomed Taiwan's businessmen, its students, its scientists, and its artists. My recollection is over 90,000 students from Taiwan attend our colleges and universities throughout our country.

But when it comes to Taiwan's democratically elected leaders, the United States, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, has repeatedly slammed the door in their face. Why, when the Government of Taiwan is a key player in the Asia-Pacific region, do we prevent their highest-level decision makers from even traveling to the United States?

This ill-considered policy toward Taiwan's democratically elected leadership is due to one simple fact: Our policymakers in the White House and State Department cringe in fear that Beijing or the People's Republic of China will be upset if we welcome Taiwan's leaders to our Nation.

To say that this reasoning is wrongheaded is an understatement. Welcoming Taiwanese officials does not mean that we have abandoned the One China Policy nor recognize or endorse Taiwan's secession from China. It is simply an acknowledgement that Taiwan is a democracy, and we treat democratically elected officials with respect.

High-level visits also advance our policy of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait through diplomacy and negotiation. Taiwan's leaders need to hear firsthand that the American people strongly support Taiwan and hope for a peaceful, mutually acceptable outcome to the tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

The current, antiquated policy cuts us from valuable opportunities to gather information and exchange views on matters of critical importance to the United States; it reduces the ability of both the Taiwanese and the American people to strengthen economic and cultural ties; and it limits American access to world leaders who play a direct role in the interest of the United States. Perhaps most profoundly, Mr. Speaker, our outdated policy is profoundly disrespectful to the leadership of a democratic friend of the United States.

This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the restriction on travel for high-level elected and appointed officials from Taiwan to the United States should be lifted so we can strengthen our crucial relationship.

I recall years ago when Taiwan's first elected President, Mr. Lee, was invited by his alma mater, Cornell University, where he obtain his doctorate degree in agricultural science. There was a whole bunch of problems created due to the fact that an elected leader from Taiwan wanted to visit his alma mater, Cornell University, and he was prohibited simply because he was an elected official.

Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense resolution which I strongly support and urge my colleagues to support.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for her kind remarks, and I commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) who could not make it because of travel problems. Quoting also from the words of Confucius, there are many acquaintances but very few friends, and I believe we are one of the few friends Taiwan has, and we should continue that relationship.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) for his eloquent statement in support of this resolution

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would again say thanks to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for their work on this issue and for the time that they are yielding.

I first became acquainted with Taiwan when I flew there. I was stationed in Southeast Asia in the military Air Force, and we had missions in and out of Taipei and other airfields, and I began to have a love for the Chinese people there in Taiwan.

After I came back to the United States, I met a good friend who had come from Taiwan and opened a small restaurant in my hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico. Joe Ye and his wife and their son have been long friends of our family. We have had many deep discussions about the future of Taiwan.

So it was with some alarm that I went to Beijing and heard meeting after meeting where the leadership of that country began to say that Taiwan needs to understand that they should voluntarily admit to being part of mainland China. And then the question arose, What if they don't voluntarily do that? The response was always a very unanimous, straightforward, Then we will do it for them militarily.

Those things began to alert me that we have in the future very difficult questions that we need to answer among ourselves here about our old friendships. If we do not have the internal strength, the internal courage, if we do not have the political will to stand by those countries that have stood by us, to remember those old friends from afar, then this Nation will indeed begin to undercut the basis of friendship for many countries, because each one of us is measured by how we live our lives and how we act. And our government, no less, is measured by the way it responds. If we respond to old friends by walking away, by turning our back, by not letting them come here to visit, it is one of the most insensible and insensitive things that we can do.

I really appreciate the work of both parties. Again, this is a good bipartisan

effort to express the sense of this Congress that we will remember our friendships and that we will honor those relationships, that we do understand the importance of the future and the past as we consider who we will spend our time with. And we as a Nation must understand that our government's actions are reflecting every day a value system. Those value systems should reflect what we, the American people, would have, not what seems politically correct or convenient at the moment.

That is not the way I want to be judged, and I don't think it is the way that people in this House want to be judged. I urge all Members to support this resolution to send a loud message to our friends in Taiwan that we do remember you and we do welcome you.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the sponsor of this resolution, Mr. Chabot, is unfortunately delayed due to airport difficulties, but his statement will be included for the Record.

Confucius once declared that ``greeting an old friend from afar is one of life's greatest pleasures.'' Well, the purpose of this resolution is to carry out this wise saying of Confucius, for the leaders and people of Taiwan have been among the most steadfast friends of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. From the dark days of the Korean War and the Taiwan Strait crisis of the late 1950s, the people of Taiwan and the people of the United States have stood together against the threat of communist tyranny.

A half century of friendship has developed, with deepening commercial ties, and in more recent years, a shared love of democratic values. It is only natural, as Confucius noted, to warmly welcome the leaders of such close friends to Washington.

But the restrictions placed on travel to our country by democratically elected officials in Taiwan, adopted by a series of U.S. administrations, is a self-inflicted wound. The often-quoted Shanghai communique issued in 1972 contains no such restriction. Nor is there any limitation spelled out in the Taiwan Relations Act. In this regard, the intentions of Congress in the Taiwan Relations Act are clear: ``To promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan.'' How can such relations be promoted without direct communications between officials of the United States and Taiwan?

No one likes being told whom they can or cannot invite to their own home. Americans consider their home to be ``their castle,'' with a sacred right to decide their own affairs within. No outsider should dictate rules and regulations within the American home.

So let's put out the welcome mat for our friends, the democratically elected officials from Taiwan, by giving overwhelming support to this long overdue resolution. I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for authoring it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 136. ...

This common-sense legislation is long overdue.

This resolution will help open the lines of communication between government leaders in Taiwan, and their counterparts here in the United States.

The resolution makes it clear once again that the U.S. Department of State that they should not take actions to prevent high level exchanges between the government of Taiwan and the government of the United States. I say ``again'' because Federal law already makes it clear that high ranking Taiwanese officials are already explicitly authorized to visit the United States.

Public Law 103-416 says that the President of Taiwan or any other high-level should be admitted for discussions with U.S. government officials about important policy issues unless he or she is excludable under the immigration laws of the United States.

Unfortunately, like so many other laws this Congress has passed, is simply ignored by the State Department. The Department seems more interested in complying with communist China's demands than in following the laws made by this democratically elected Congress.

As a result of this defiance, it has become nearly impossible for President Chen, Vice President Annette Lu and other high ranking Taiwanese officials travel to Washington, DC even for routine meetings with administration officials. Instead, these officials are often confined to cities far from the Nation's Capital, and often only then as a point of transit en route to another country. This is unconscionable.

Mr. Speaker, we host all kinds of foreign leaders in Washington because a two-way dialogue is important for maintaining and improving our cultural, economic--and yes--security interests around the world. Keeping an open channel with our democratic allies in Taiwan is part of that process.

I am pleased that my friend Mr. Chabot has worked so hard to bring this bill to the floor today. And I strongly support his efforts to help improve our communication with our friends and allies in Taiwan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 136 which expresses the sense of Congress that restrictions on visits to the United States by high-level elected officials from Taiwan--including the President of Taiwan--should be lifted. And I thank my friend, Mr. Chabot of Ohio, for introducing this important resolution.

Taiwan is without a doubt one of the most important allies of the United States in the Asia Pacific region. Taiwan is a rising economic power and has consistently ranked as one of the top ten U.S. export markets. In 2005, U.S.--Taiwan bilateral trade totaled $57 billion. In addition, our political ties with Taiwan have become ever more important in a world where China is increasing its global reach.

I am the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. In Central America and the Caribbean, I have seen China continue to expand its presence while Taiwan becomes increasingly isolated. Given these realities in our own hemisphere, I believe that we must work closely with Taiwan to increase its global visibility and membership in international organizations when it is strategically and politically feasible.

Given our strong political and economic relationship, it would seem inconceivable that we would place restrictions on high-level elected officials of Taiwan during their visits to the United States. Taiwan is a key U.S. ally which is trying hard to maintain its international position, and we should give Taiwan our strong support. I commend Mr. Chabot for introducing this important resolution and hope that Congress can work closely with the Bush Administration to ensure that these restrictions are actually removed.