IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 273 
Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and to the 
implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2019 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. YOHO, Mr. CON-
NOLLY, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. SIRES, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and 
to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. 
Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was signed into 
law on April 10, 1979, codifying into law the basis for 
continued commercial, cultural, and other relations be-
tween the people of the United States and the people of 
Taiwan, and serving 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 de-
fense services in such quantity as may be necessary to 
enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capa-
bility; 
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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-Tai-
wan relationship with the issuance of the Six Assurances; 
Whereas the TRA and the Six Assurances are cornerstones 
of United States policy with respect to Taiwan, as was 
reaffirmed by the House of Representatives with the 
adoption of H. Con. Res. 88 in 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 clos-
er economic and security relations over the last four dec-
ades based on their shared commitment to democracy, 
human rights, the rule of law and free market principles, 
and their willingness to partner in efforts to combat glob-
al terrorism and to address other global challenges, such 
as those related to the environment, public health, energy 
security, education, women’s empowerment, digital econ-
omy, poverty, and natural disasters; 
Whereas the United States-Taiwan partnership has been fur-
ther strengthened since the 2015 memorandum of under-
standing establishing the Global Cooperation and Train-
ing Framework (GCTF), which has allowed the two par-
ties to cohost many workshops on critical topics, includ-
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ing one in December 2018 on humanitarian assistance 
and disaster relief to which ten regional governments sent 
participants; 
Whereas Taiwan has the expertise, willingness, and capability 
to engage in international efforts to mitigate global chal-
lenges 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 (PRC); 
Whereas successive Congresses have called upon the executive 
branch to develop strategies to obtain meaningful partici-
pation for Taiwan in international organizations, such as 
the World Health Organization (WHO), International 
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and International 
Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); 
Whereas the Congress most recently expressed support for 
Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Organiza-
tion’s World Health Assembly as an observer on January 
22, 2019, with the adoption of H.R. 353 by the House 
of Representatives; 
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 became law on March 16, 2018, 
and which states that the United States Government 
‘‘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, with the United States now Tai-
wan’s third largest trading partner and with Taiwan the 
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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 both the United 
States and Taiwan; and 
Whereas successive Congresses have publicly reaffirmed 
United States commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan 
Relations Act and Six Assurances, including most re-
cently on December 31, 2018, with the enactment into 
law of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Pub-
lic Law 115–409), which stated among other things 
that— 
(1) it is United States policy ‘‘to support the close 
economic, political, and security relationship between Tai-
wan and the United States’’; 
(2) ‘‘The President should conduct regular transfers 
of defense articles to Taiwan that are tailored to meet 
the existing and likely threats from the People’s Republic 
of China, including supporting the efforts of Taiwan to 
develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities, as appro-
priate, including mobile, survivable, and cost-effective ca-
pabilities into its military forces.’’; and 
(3) ‘‘The President should encourage the travel of 
high-level United States officials to Taiwan, in accord-
ance with the Taiwan Travel Act.’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms that the Taiwan Relations Act, to-
gether with the Six Assurances, are and will remain 
cornerstones of United States relations with Taiwan; 
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(2) encourages United States officials at all lev-
els to travel to meet with their counterparts in Tai-
wan, and for high-level Taiwan officials to enter the 
United States and meet with United States officials, 
per the Taiwan Travel Act; 
(3) reiterates that the President should conduct 
regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan con-
sistent with Taiwan’s national security requirements 
in accordance to prior legislation, including the Asia 
Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 
115–409); 
(4) calls on the Secretary of State to actively 
engage internationally in support of Taiwan’s mean-
ingful participation in international organizations 
engaged in addressing transnational threats and 
challenges such as those related to health, aviation 
security, and crime and terrorism; 
(5) recognizes Taiwan’s partnership in com-
bating global terrorism, including as a full partner 
in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and in ad-
dressing other global challenges through the Global 
Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) and 
other such initiatives; 
(6) underscores the importance of the close peo-
ple-to-people ties cultivated through initiatives such 
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as the Fulbright Program, which has supported 
thousands of scholar and grantee exchanges between 
the United States and Taiwan over the past 60 
years; and 
(7) acknowledges the important work done by 
the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei 
Economic and Cultural Representative Office in sup-
port of United States-Taiwan interests. 
Æ 
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