U.S. president signs bill backing Taiwan's ICAO bid
ROC Central News Agency
2013/07/13 16:02:59
Washington, July 12 (CNA) U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law H.R. 1151, an act concerning participation of Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and announced the U.S. government's full support for Taiwan's participation in the organization.
While signing the act into law, Obama also issued a statement saying that the United States fully supports Taiwan's membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement for membership and encourages Taiwan's meaningful participation, as appropriate, in organizations where its membership is not possible.
The U.S. administration has publicly supported Taiwan's participation at the ICAO and will continue to do so, according to the statement.
'Consistent with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs, my Administration shall construe the Act to be consistent with the 'one China' policy of the United States, which remains unchanged, and shall determine the measures best suited to advance the overall goal of Taiwan's participation in the ICAO,' Obama said in the statement.
Obama noted that some sections of the act contain impermissibly mandatory language purporting to direct the Secretary of State to undertake certain diplomatic initiatives and to report to the Congress on the progress of those initiatives.
'Consistent with longstanding constitutional practice, my Administration will interpret and implement these sections in a manner that does not interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct diplomacy and to protect the confidentiality of diplomatic communications,' the U.S. president said in the statement.
The House of Representatives and the Senate each passed resolutions supporting Taiwan's ICAO bid earlier this month. As their versions were the same, the two chambers moved quickly to pass the bill.
Sen. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, who initiated the Senate resolution, said that the signing into law of the Act marks a step forward in Taiwan's pursuit of ICAO participation and that he believes Taiwan will contribute greatly to the ICAO and its bid to participate in the organization should not be turned down.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who introduced the legislation, had previously said Taiwan's exclusion from the ICAO is extremely disadvantageous to the millions of passengers flying between Taiwan and the United States every year.
The number of people traveling between the two countries is expected to increase significantly after the U.S. granted Taiwanese nationals visa-free entry into the United States last year.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao on Saturday expressed the Republic of China government's gratitude for Obama signing the Act into law, describing it as a positive development.
Kao said that since President Ma Ying-jeou took office, he has been adopting a pragmatic approach to diplomacy which has led to strong mutual trust, close and friendly bilateral ties between Taiwan and the U.S. and the U.S. support for Taiwan to participate in international organizations.
The U.S. Congress finalizing legislation in support of Taiwan's bid to participate in the ICAO and Obama signing the Act into law showed that the U.S. administration, Congress and local government all support Taiwan's ICAO bid, Kao added.
Kao said that the ICAO is scheduled to hold a meeting in Montreal, Canada in September and the MOFA is mapping out a plan for attending the meeting.
(By Tony Liao, Angela Tsai and Y.L. Kao)
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