I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 535 

To encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2017 

Mr. CHABOT (for himself, Mr. ROYCE of California, and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan 

at all levels, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Travel Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 

8 et seq.), enacted in 1979, has continued for 37 years 

9 to be a cornerstone of relations between the United 


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1 States and Taiwan and has served as an anchor for 

2 peace and security in the Western Pacific area. 

3 (2) The Taiwan Relations Act declares that 

4 peace and stability in the Western Pacific area are 

5 in the political, security, and economic interests of 

6 the United States and are matters of international 

7 concern. 

8 (3) The United States considers any effort to 

9 determine the future of Taiwan by other than peace10 ful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a 

11 threat to the peace and security of the Western Pa12 cific area and of grave concern to the United States. 

13 (4) Taiwan has succeeded in a momentous tran14 sition to democracy beginning in the late 1980s and 

15 has been a beacon of democracy in Asia, and Tai16 wan’s democratic achievements inspire many coun17 tries and people in the region. 

18 (5) Visits to a country by United States cabinet 

19 members and other high-ranking officials are an in20 dicator of the breadth and depth of ties between the 

21 United States and such country. 

22 (6) Since the enactment of the Taiwan Rela23 tions Act, relations between the United States and 

24 Taiwan have suffered from insufficient high-level 

25 communication due to the self-imposed restrictions 


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1 that the United States maintains on high-level visits 

2 with Taiwan. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the United States Government should encour6 age visits between officials from the United States and 

7 Taiwan at all levels. 

8 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It should be the policy 

9 of the United States to— 

10 (1) allow officials at all levels of the United 

11 States Government, including cabinet-level national 

12 security officials, general officers, and other execu13 tive branch officials, to travel to Taiwan to meet 

14 their Taiwanese counterparts; 

15 (2) allow high-level officials of Taiwan to enter 

16 the United States, under conditions which dem17 onstrate appropriate respect for the dignity of such 

18 officials, and to meet with officials of the United 

19 States, including officials from the Department of 

20 State and the Department of Defense and other cab21 inet agencies; and 

22 (3) encourage the Taipei Economic and Cul23 tural Representative Office, and any other instru24 mentality established by Taiwan, to conduct business 

25 in the United States, including activities which inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Jan 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H535.IH H535

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1 volve participation by Members of Congress, officials 

2 of Federal, State, or local governments of the United 

3 States, or any high-level official of Taiwan. 

Æ 


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