IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 18 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should resume 
normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2009 
Mr. LINDER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States 
should resume normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, 
and for other purposes. 
Whereas the people of Taiwan have established a vibrant and 
pluralistic democracy; 
Whereas the people of Taiwan have conducted four successful 
presidential elections, successive elections for members of 
their national legislature, numerous local elections, and 
two national referendums; 
Whereas Taiwan has never been under the jurisdiction of the 
Communist government in Beijing, which continues to il-
legitimately claim sovereignty over Taiwan and its 
23,000,000 citizens; 
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•HCON 18 IH 
Whereas the Shanghai Communique, which maintains that 
there is ‘‘One China’’ and that ‘‘Taiwan is part of 
China’’, was established without the consultation of Con-
gress or people of Taiwan; 
Whereas Communist China has since used the ‘‘One China 
Policy’’ to block Taiwan’s membership and full participa-
tion in international organizations and events, ranging 
from the United Nations and the World Health Organi-
zation to the Olympics; 
Whereas the ‘‘One China Policy’’ is effectively obsolete, and 
does not the reflect the obvious reality that Taiwan has 
functioned as an independent and sovereign country for 
over half a century; 
Whereas Taiwan maintains diplomatic, cultural, and eco-
nomic relations with several countries around the world; 
Whereas Taiwan and the United States maintained formal 
diplomatic relations until 1979; 
Whereas former President Jimmy Carter abruptly severed 
diplomatic ties with the Taiwan in 1979 and terminated 
the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States 
and Taiwan without consulting or seeking the approval of 
Congress; 
Whereas Congress responded later that year by adopting the 
Taiwan Relations Act, codifying in law the basis for con-
tinued friendly relations between the United States and 
Taiwan; 
Whereas former President Ronald Reagan issued the ‘‘Six 
Assurances’’ to Taiwan in July 1982, including the as-
surance that ‘‘[t]he United States would not formally rec-
ognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.’’; and 
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•HCON 18 IH 
Whereas Taiwan has been a steadfast ally of the United 
States and a responsible and compassionate member of 
the world community: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the President should abandon the fun-
damentally flawed ‘‘One China Policy’’ in favor of a 
more realistic ‘‘One China, One Taiwan Policy’’ that 
recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign and independent 
country, separate from the Communist regime in 
Beijing; 
(2) the President should begin the process of 
resuming normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan; 
and 
(3) the President, the Permanent Representa-
tive of the United States to the United Nations, and 
other relevant United States officials should aggres-
sively support Taiwan’s full participation in the 
United Nations and any other international organi-
zation of which the United States is a member, and 
for which statehood is a requirement for member-
ship. 
Æ 
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