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[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 132 Introduced in House (IH)]

105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 132

   Relating to the Republic of China (Taiwan's) participation in the 
                            United Nations.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 1997

   Mr. Solomon (for himself and Mr. Lantos) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
   Relating to the Republic of China (Taiwan's) participation in the 
                            United Nations.

Whereas the Republic of China was the first signatory to the Charter of the 
        United Nations in 1945 and remained an active member of that world body 
        until 1971;
Whereas China was divided in 1949, and the Republic of China (hereinafter 
        referred to as ``Taiwan'') and the People's Republic of China 
        (hereinafter cited as ``Mainland China'') have exercised exclusive 
        jurisdiction over their respective areas since then;
Whereas Taiwan has the 19th largest gross national product in the world, a 
        strong and vibrant economy, and one of the largest foreign exchange 
        reserves of any nation;
Whereas Taiwan has dramatically improved its record on human rights and 
        routinely holds free and fair elections in a multiparty system, as 
        evidenced most recently by the March 1996 presidential election and the 
        December 1995 parliamentary elections;
Whereas the 21 million people in Taiwan have not been represented in the United 
        Nations since 1971 and their human rights as citizens of the world have 
        therefore been severely abridged;
Whereas Taiwan has in recent years repeatedly expressed its strong desire to 
        participate in the United Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has much to contribute to the work and funding of the United 
        Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has demonstrated its commitment to the world community by 
        responding to international disasters and crises such as environmental 
        destruction in the Persian Gulf and famine in Rwanda by providing 
        financial donations, medical assistance, and other forms of aid;
Whereas the world community has reacted positively to Taiwan's desire for 
        international participation, as shown by Taiwan's continued membership 
        in the Asian Development Bank, the admission of Taiwan into the Asia-
        Pacific Economic Cooperation group as a full member, and the accession 
        of Taiwan as an observer at the World Trade Organization as the first 
        step toward becoming a contracting party to that organization;
Whereas the United States has supported Taiwan's participation in these bodies 
        and indicated, in its policy review of September 1994, a stronger and 
        more active policy of support for Taiwan's participation in other 
        international organizations;
Whereas in 1996 the European Parliament passed, and the United States House of 
        Representatives endorsed, a resolution urging support for Taiwan's 
        attempts to secure better representation in international organizations;
Whereas Taiwan has repeatedly stated that its participation in international 
        organizations is one of parallel representation without prejudice to the 
        current status of Mainland China in the international community and does 
        not represent a challenge to that status;
Whereas the United Nations and other international organizations have 
        established precedents concerning parallel representation, such as the 
        cases of South Korea and North Korea and the former two Germanies;
Whereas the decision of the United States to establish diplomatic relations with 
        Mainland China, as expressed in the Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96-
        8), is based ``upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be 
        determined by peaceful means''; and
Whereas Taiwan's participation in international organizations would not prevent 
        or imperil the eventual resolution of disputes between Taiwan and 
        Mainland China any more than the participation in international 
        organizations by the former West Germany and the former East Germany 
        prevented the eventual settlement of Germany's national status by 
        peaceful and democratic means: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Taiwan deserves full participation, including a seat, 
        in the United Nations and its related agencies; and
            (2) the Government of the United States should immediately 
        encourage the United Nations to take action by considering the 
        unique situation of Taiwan in the international community and 
        adopting a comprehensive solution to accommodate Taiwan in the 
        United Nations and its related agencies.
                                 <all>
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