III
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 56
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 24, 1999
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan
Relations Act.
Whereas April 10, 1999, will mark the 20th anniversary of
the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, codifying in
public law the basis for continued commercial, cultural,
and other relations between the United States and Tai-
wan;
Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act was advanced by Congress
and supported by the executive branch as a critical tool
to preserve and promote ties the American people have
enjoyed with the people of Taiwan;
Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act has been instrumental in
maintaining peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan
Strait since its enactment in 1979;
Whereas when the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted in
1979, it affirmed that the United States decision to es-
tablish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of
HCON 56 RFS
China was based on the expectation that the future of
Taiwan would be determined by peaceful means;
Whereas officials of the People’s Republic of China refuse to
renounce the use of force against democratic Taiwan;
Whereas the defense modernization and weapons procurement
efforts by the People’s Republic of China, as documented
in the February 1, 1999, report by the Secretary of De-
fense on ‘‘The Security Situation in the Taiwan Strait’’,
could threaten cross-Strait stability and United States in-
terests in the Asia-Pacific region;
Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act provides explicit guaran-
tees that the United States will make available defense
articles and services necessary in such quantity as may
be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient
self-defense capability;
Whereas section 3(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act requires
timely reviews by United States military authorities of
Taiwan’s defense needs in connection with recommenda-
tions to the President and the Congress;
Whereas Congress and the President are committed by Arti-
cle 3(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act to determine the na-
ture and quantity of Taiwan’s legitimate self-defense
needs;
Whereas it is the policy of the United States to reject any
attempt to curb the provision by the United States of de-
fense articles and services legitimately needed for Tai-
wan’s self-defense;
Whereas it is the policy set forth in the Taiwan Relations Act
to promote extensive commercial relations between the
people of the United States and the people of Taiwan and
HCON 56 RFS
such commercial relations would be further enhanced by
Taiwan’s membership in the World Trade Organization;
Whereas Taiwan today is a full-fledged multi-party democ-
racy fully respecting human rights and civil liberties and
serves as a successful model of democratic reform for the
People’s Republic of China;
Whereas it is United States policy to promote extensive cul-
tural relations with Taiwan, ties that should be further
encouraged and expanded;
Whereas any attempt to determine Taiwan’s future by other
than peaceful means, including boycotts or embargoes,
would be considered a threat to the peace and security
of the Western Pacific and of grave concern to the
United States;
Whereas in the spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act, which en-
courages the future of democratic Taiwan to be deter-
mined by peaceful means, Taiwan has engaged the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China in a cross-Strait dialogue by ad-
vocating that peaceful reunification be based on a demo-
cratic system of government being implemented on the
mainland; and
Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act established the American
Institute on Taiwan (AIT) to carry out the programs,
transactions, and other relations conducted or carried out
by the United States Government with respect to Taiwan
and AIT should be recognized for the successful role it
has played in sustaining and enhancing United States re-
lations with Taiwan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that—
HCON 56 RFS
(1) the United States should reaffirm its com-
mitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the spe-
cific guarantees for the provision of legitimate de-
fense articles to Taiwan contained therein;
(2) the Congress has grave concerns over Chi-
na’s military modernization and weapons procure-
ment program, especially ballistic missile capability
and deployment that seem particularly directed to-
ward threatening Taiwan;
(3) the President should direct all appropriate
officials to raise these grave concerns about new
Chinese military threats to Taiwan with officials
from the People’s Republic of China;
(4) the President should seek from leaders of
the People’s Republic of China a public renunciation
of any use of force, or threat to use force, against
Taiwan;
(5) the President should provide annually a re-
port detailing the military balance on both sides of
the Taiwan Strait, including the impact of procure-
ment and modernization programs;
(6) the executive branch should inform the ap-
propriate committees of Congress when officials
from Taiwan seek to purchase defense articles for
self-defense;
HCON 56 RFS
(7) the United States Government should en-
courage a regional high-level dialogue on the best
means to ensure stability, peace, and freedom of the
seas in East Asia;
(8) the President should encourage further dia-
logue between democratic Taiwan and the People’s
Republic of China; and
(9) it should be United States policy in con-
formity with Article 4(d) of the Taiwan Relations
Act to publicly support Taiwan’s admission to the
World Trade Organization as soon as possible on its
own merits and encourage others to adopt similar
policies.
Passed the House of Representatives March 23,
1999.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.