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Taipei, Oct. 18 (CNA) Legislative Yuan Vice President Rau Yin-chi said Monday that the Taiwan Security Enhancement Bill is expected to be passed by the US House of Representatives and that all Congress members are concerned about the security problem between Taiwan and mainland China.

Rau, who just returned from a US trip with the dual purpose of expressing gratitude for rescue and relief assistance after Taiwan's Sept. 21 earthquake and of lobbying Congress for passage of the bill, added, however, that the bill is not likely to be passed by the Senate due to reservations of some Democrats.

Rau made the statement during a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan. Others who accompanied him on the trip said that Democrats are at loggerheads with Republicans in the Senate over the recent rejection of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and therefore the bill might be shelved.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Parris Chang, who visited the United States with Rau and was present at the press conference, accused the ROC government of having failed to make enough effort in lobbying for passage of the Taiwan Security Enhancement Bill.

Chang noted that some US legislators had revealed that if the Republic of China government had devoted as much effort and resources as it did when lobbying for President Lee Teng-hui's 1995 visit to the United States, then the bill might have passed.

According to Chang, the Taiwan Security Enhancement Bill, designed to increase US arms sales to Taiwan and to construct a more cooperative bilateral relationship in terms of armed forces and security maintenance, is currently under review and has been opposed by some US administrative departments on the grounds that Taiwan's arguments for buying more weapons are not convincing and are not specifically designed to meet the needs of national defense.

Along with eight other legislators from the ruling Kuomintang and the main opposition DPP, Rau departed for the United States on Oct. 1. During the week-long visit, they met with representatives from both the House and Senate, as well as American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Richard Bush, private think tanks and groups of overseas Taiwanese. (by Amanda Chang)