III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 13 

Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and to the 

implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Mr. GARDNER (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. MENENDEZ, and 

Mr. RISCH) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and 

to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. 

Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘TRA’’), which was signed into law on April 

10, 1979, codified into law the basis for continued commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people 

of the United States and the people of Taiwan, and 

serves as the foundation to preserve and promote continued bilateral bonds; 

Whereas the TRA enshrines the United States commitment 

to make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to 

enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability; 


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•SCON 13 IS 

Whereas pursuant to section 1206 of the Foreign Relations 

Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 

228; 22 U.S.C. 2321k note), Taiwan is to be treated as 

though it were designated a major non-NATO ally for 

transfers of defense articles or defense services; 

Whereas in 1982, President Ronald Reagan further clarified 

the importance and resilience of the United States-Taiwan relationship by agreeing to the Six Assurances; 

Whereas the TRA and the Six Assurances are cornerstones 

of United States policy with respect to Taiwan, as was 

reaffirmed— 

(1) by the House of Representatives with the adoption of H. Con. Res. 88 on May 16, 2016; and 

(2) by the Senate with the adoption of S. Con. Res. 

38 on July 6, 2016; 

Whereas the TRA and the Six Assurances have been essential 

components in helping to maintain peace, security, and 

stability in the Western Pacific, thereby furthering the 

political, security, and economic interests of the United 

States and Taiwan; 

Whereas the United States and Taiwan have forged ever closer economic and security relations during the last 4 decades based on— 

(1) their shared commitment to democracy, human 

rights, the rule of law, and free market principles; and 

(2) their willingness to partner in efforts to combat 

global terrorism and to address other global challenges, 

such as challenges related to the environment, public 

health, energy security, education, women’s empowerment, digital economy, poverty, and natural disasters; 


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Whereas the United States-Taiwan global partnership was 

further strengthened in June 2015, with a memorandum 

of understanding between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, which established the 

Global Cooperation and Training Framework, and has allowed the 2 parties to cohost many workshops on critical 

topics, including a December 2018 workshop on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief that was attended by 

10 regional governments; 

Whereas Taiwan has the expertise, willingness, and capability 

to engage in international efforts to mitigate global challenges related to such issues as public health, aviation 

safety, crime, and terrorism, but its participation in such 

efforts has been constrained by conditions imposed by the 

People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas successive Congresses have called upon the executive 

branch to develop strategies to obtain meaningful participation for Taiwan in international organizations, such as 

the World Health Organization, the International Civil 

Aviation Organization, and the International Criminal 

Police Organization (commonly known as ‘‘INTERPOL’’); 

Whereas the House of Representatives passed H.R. 353 on 

January 22, 2019, which expresses support for Taiwan’s 

participation at the World Health Organization’s World 

Health Assembly as an observer; 

Whereas communication on bilateral security, cultural, and 

commercial interests would be greatly enhanced with the 

full implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act (Public 

Law 115–135), which was signed into law on March 16, 

2018, and which states ‘‘the United States Government 


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should encourage visits between officials from the United 

States and Taiwan at all levels’’; 

Whereas the United States and Taiwan have built a strong 

economic partnership in which— 

(1) the United States is Taiwan’s third largest trading partner; and 

(2) Taiwan is the 11th largest trading partner of the 

United States and a key destination for United States 

agricultural exports; 

Whereas strong United States-Taiwan economic relations 

have been a positive factor in stimulating economic 

growth and job creation for the people of the United 

States and of Taiwan; and 

Whereas successive Congresses have publicly reaffirmed 

United States commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan 

Relations Act and Six Assurances, including most recently on December 31, 2018, with the enactment into 

law of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–409), which states that— 

(1) it is United States policy ‘‘to support the close 

economic, political, and security relationship between Taiwan and the United States’’; and 

(2) the President should— 

(A) ‘‘conduct regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan that are tailored to meet the existing 

and likely future threats from the People’s Republic 

of China, including supporting the efforts of Taiwan 

to develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities, as 

appropriate, including mobile, survivable, and costeffective capabilities, into its military forces’’; and 


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(B) ‘‘encourage the travel of high-level United 

States officials to Taiwan, in accordance with the 

Taiwan Travel Act’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) reaffirms that the Taiwan Relations Act 

4 and the Six Assurances are, and will remain, corner5 stones of United States relations with Taiwan; 

6 (2) encourages United States officials at all lev7 els to travel to meet with their counterparts in Tai8 wan, and for high-level Taiwan officials to enter the 

9 United States and meet with United States officials, 

10 in accordance with the Taiwan Travel Act; 

11 (3) reiterates that the President should conduct 

12 regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan con13 sistent with Taiwan’s national security requirements 

14 in accordance with existing law, including the Asia 

15 Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 

16 115–409); 

17 (4) calls upon the Secretary of State to actively 

18 engage internationally in support of Taiwan’s mean19 ingful participation in international organizations 

20 engaged in addressing transnational threats and 

21 challenges such as those related to health, aviation 

22 security, and crime and terrorism; 


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1 (5) recognizes Taiwan’s partnership in com2 bating global terrorism, including as a full partner 

3 in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and in ad4 dressing other global challenges through the Global 

5 Cooperation and Training Framework and similar 

6 initiatives; 

7 (6) urges the President to explore opportunities 

8 to expand and deepen bilateral economic and trade 

9 relations with Taiwan; 

10 (7) underscores the importance of the close peo11 ple-to-people ties cultivated through initiatives such 

12 as the Fulbright Program, which has supported 

13 thousands of scholar and grantee exchanges between 

14 the United States and Taiwan for 60 years; 

15 (8) welcomes the inclusion of Taiwan into the 

16 United States visa waiver program and U.S. Cus17 toms and Border Protection’s Global Entry Program 

18 to make it easier for those traveling from Taiwan to 

19 visit the United States; and 

20 (9) acknowledges the important work done by 

21 the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei 

22 Economic and Cultural Representative Office in sup23 port of United States-Taiwan interests. 

Æ 


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