[Page: S3854]
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to discuss a concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President of Taiwan, Li Teng-hui, be allowed to visit the United States.
We submitted this concurrent resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 9, last week. We had 36 bipartisan cosponsors, some 11 or 12 Democrats, and 24 or 25 Republicans.
Specifically, the concurrent resolution calls on President Clinton to allow President Li to come to the United States on a private visit, as opposed to an official state visit. An identical concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 33, has been submitted in the House by Congressmen Lantos, Solomon, and Torricelli.
Why should we simply let the People's Republic of China, our friends in China, dictate to us who can visit our country? The current State Department policy of saying that allowing Li to visit would upset relations with the People's Republic of China offends the Senator from Alaska. I think Taiwan has made great strides toward achieving some of the goals that we have achieved in our democracy, such as ending martial law, free and fair elections, a vocal press, and in human rights great advancements have taken place.
Taiwan is a friendly, democratic, stable, prosperous country and the 5th largest trading partner of the United States and the world's 13th, I might add. They buy twice as much from the United States as from the People's Republic of China. The largest foreign reserves per capita, and contribute to international causes. They are good international citizens.
But the United States continues to give a cold shoulder to the leader of Taiwan. That leader, I might add, is going to run in a reelection effort. It is the first time they have had free and open elections. Last May, in Hawaii, the State Department refused to allow President Li to visit overnight while his plane refueled, and they indicated they would not allow a private visit. The rationale for that was that the President was going on to Central America and his plane had to land for refueling. I think it was the worst type of hospitality evidenced by the State Department in some time. We know that the People's Republic of China is going to bellow about everything we do regarding Taiwan--United States pressures at the United Nations on human rights, World Trade Organization membership, and anything we do for Taiwan is raised as an issue by the People's Republic of China. But, in the end, they will make the same calculation about when to risk offending us on the U.S. market.
I think that the precedent exists for President Li to visit the United States. Consider for a moment, Mr. President, that we have welcomed other unofficial leaders to the United States, such as Dalai Lama, who called on Vice President Gore--over the objections of the People's Republic of China. Yasser Arafat came to the White House ceremony; he was once considered a terrorist. Gerry Adams has been granted numerous visas over British objections.
In each case, the administration made direct choices to allow a visit to advance America's goals. Li's visit would do the same thing. United States-ROC Economic Counsel Conference will hold a meeting in Anchorage, AK. Visiting there would not be a political statement. We are almost another country, in the sense that we are a little out there in the western northern part of the hemisphere, if you will.
What they are asking for here is for Li to visit his alma mater, Cornell University in New York. They would like him to come up in the spring and give an address to the students and faculty. I call on the administration to allow these events.
I remind my colleagues, as we address the friction between Taiwan and China, that there are two organizations--one, the mainland People's Republic of China, and one in Taiwan. They meet regularly and discuss hijackings and commercial and trade activities--everything but politics. Chinese business men and women are probably the best in the world. They recognize that it is necessary that they maintain a dialog, and now we are seeing the opening up of some of the southern ports of China with direct shipment of goods originating in Taiwan. They will not have to go through Hong Kong anymore. So as we look at a stagnant relationship with Taiwan, clearly there is a dialog developing between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. It is time that we allowed President Li to visit this country.
Mr. President, that concludes my remarks. I see my friend from Illinois on the floor seeking recognition. I had the pleasure of accompanying him on a recent trip to North Korea and to China, as well. I am sure he has some observations.
I yield the floor.
[Page: S3855]
Mr. SIMON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
END
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
