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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 542 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 542

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States Government 
    should continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan 
 following the January 2012 presidential and legislative elections in 
                                Taiwan.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2012

  Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Begich) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States Government 
    should continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan 
 following the January 2012 presidential and legislative elections in 
                                Taiwan.

Whereas, for many years, Taiwan has been a strong and cooperative partner of the 
        United States;
Whereas the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), the cornerstone 
        of United States-Taiwan relations, declares that ``the preservation and 
        enhancement of the human rights of all the people of Taiwan are hereby 
        reaffirmed as objectives of the United States'';
Whereas, since the lifting of martial law in 1987, the people of Taiwan have 
        amply demonstrated their desire for democratic governance, as well as 
        their commitment to human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law;
Whereas, since their first democratic presidential election in 1996, the people 
        of Taiwan have conducted four more presidential elections, as well as 
        successive elections for members of their national legislature, numerous 
        local elections, and two national referendums;
Whereas Taiwan conducted its latest presidential and legislative elections on 
        January 14, 2012;
Whereas, on January 14, 2012, Mr. Ma Ying-jeou, the incumbent and the nominee of 
        the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was re-elected as the President of 
        Taiwan with 51.6 percent of the vote, while in the 113-member 
        legislature the KMT won 64 seats, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 
        won 40 seats, and the People's First Party (PFP), the Taiwan Solidarity 
        Union (TSU), and other non-partisan independent candidates each won 3 
        seats;
Whereas an international election observation mission made up of 19 observers 
        from 8 countries, invited by the International Committee for Fair 
        Elections in Taiwan (ICFET), observed the January 14, 2012, elections in 
        Taiwan;
Whereas the final report of the mission, made up of observers from Australia, 
        Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United 
        States, was recently presented in Taiwan;
Whereas the final report of the mission included--

    (1) a finding that the elections were mostly free but only partly fair;

    (2) a finding that the date selected for the election made it more 
convenient for Taiwan businessmen in China to return for the vote, but made 
it more difficult for students to return to their home towns to vote, and a 
recommendation that the household registration system should be changed to 
allow people to vote where they actually work or study in Taiwan, ending 
the need to travel long distances to vote;

    (3) a finding that vote buying and vote betting remains an issue of 
concern, and recommendations that stiffer penalties be put in place for 
candidates who buy votes, such as disqualification from running in future 
elections, and that the political parties do more to prevent individual 
candidates from engaging in vote buying;

    (4) a finding that major violations of principles of administrative 
neutrality during the elections by government officials occurred, and a 
recommendation that civil service and non-elected offices need to be 
further de-politicized;

    (5) a finding that verified data does not exist on campaign financial 
resources and expenditures and it seemed likely that campaign spending 
exceeded campaign finance limits, and recommendations that enforcement and 
public promotion of campaign spending laws be strengthened and loopholes 
closed and that the longstanding issue of KMT party assets, including their 
source, use, and investments be resolved;

    (6) a finding that the Government of the People's Republic of China 
attempted to influence the elections by sending agricultural purchasing 
missions to southern Taiwan as a sign of support for the sitting President, 
reducing the number of tourist groups allowed to travel to Taiwan to signal 
the ability to reduce tourism if the ``wrong candidate'' won, and by 
discounting flights from China to Taiwan to make it easier for Taiwanese 
businessmen living in China to return to Taiwan to vote;

    (7) a finding that actions and statements by the United States 
Government and its officials might have influenced the elections, noting 
that in the three months preceding the election, there were more visits by 
high-level United States officials to Taipei than during any calendar year 
in recent history; less than one month before the elections, the Department 
of State announced Taiwan's candidacy for participation in the visa waiver 
program; and a senior United States official stated anonymously through the 
Financial Times that the DPP's presidential candidate Tsai ``left us with 
distinct doubts about whether she is both willing and able to continue the 
stability in cross-Strait relations the region has enjoyed in recent 
years''; and

    (8) a finding that media outlets gave preferential treatment to a 
particular party or candidate based on the outlet's political affiliation;

Whereas Taiwan's native-grown democratic experience serves as a model for 
        countries in the region and around the world aspiring to establish 
        democratic rule;
Whereas Taiwan's free and open society plays a stabilizing role in the Asia 
        Pacific region and is thus conducive to the interests of states of the 
        region, including the United States, in furthering peace, prosperity and 
        stability; and
Whereas the United States remains committed to the continued strengthening and 
        development of democratic institutions in Taiwan, and to ensuring the 
        ability of the people of Taiwan to determine their own future free from 
        outside interference or coercion: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) applauds the progress made by the people of Taiwan 
        toward the consolidation of democracy over the past two 
        decades, and commends their enduring commitment to the values 
        of democracy, rule of law, and the protection of human rights;
            (2) encourages the people and the Government of Taiwan to 
        take steps to continue to strengthen the protection of 
        democratic values and human rights in their country, including 
        freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the 
        press;
            (3) encourages the people and the Government of Taiwan to 
        take into consideration the conclusions and recommendations of 
        international election monitoring missions, including the final 
        International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) report, as 
        they seek to strengthen their democratic practices and human 
        rights protections;
            (4) urges the President and Government of the United States 
        to continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan;
            (5) encourages all outside parties to remain neutral in 
        Taiwan's elections; and
            (6) affirms that the future of Taiwan should be resolved 
        peacefully, in accordance with democratic principles, and with 
        the assent of the people of Taiwan.
                                 <all>
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