IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 132
Relating to the Republic of China (Taiwan’s) participation in the United
Nations.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 29, 1997
Mr. SOLOMON (for himself and Mr. LANTOS) submitted the following concur-
rent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Re-
lations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Relating to the Republic of China (Taiwan’s) participation
in the United Nations.
Whereas the Republic of China was the first signatory to the
Charter of the United Nations in 1945 and remained an
active member of that world body until 1971;
Whereas China was divided in 1949, and the Republic of
China (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘Taiwan’’) and the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China (hereinafter cited as ‘‘Mainland
China’’) have exercised exclusive jurisdiction over their
respective areas since then;
Whereas Taiwan has the 19th largest gross national product
in the world, a strong and vibrant economy, and one of
the largest foreign exchange reserves of any nation;
•HCON 132 IH
Whereas Taiwan has dramatically improved its record on
human rights and routinely holds free and fair elections
in a multiparty system, as evidenced most recently by the
March 1996 presidential election and the December 1995
parliamentary elections;
Whereas the 21 million people in Taiwan have not been rep-
resented in the United Nations since 1971 and their
human rights as citizens of the world have therefore been
severely abridged;
Whereas Taiwan has in recent years repeatedly expressed its
strong desire to participate in the United Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has much to contribute to the work and
funding of the United Nations;
Whereas Taiwan has demonstrated its commitment to the
world community by responding to international disasters
and crises such as environmental destruction in the Per-
sian Gulf and famine in Rwanda by providing financial
donations, medical assistance, and other forms of aid;
Whereas the world community has reacted positively to Tai-
wan’s desire for international participation, as shown by
Taiwan’s continued membership in the Asian Develop-
ment Bank, the admission of Taiwan into the Asia-Pa-
cific Economic Cooperation group as a full member, and
the accession of Taiwan as an observer at the World
Trade Organization as the first step toward becoming a
contracting party to that organization;
Whereas the United States has supported Taiwan’s participa-
tion in these bodies and indicated, in its policy review of
September 1994, a stronger and more active policy of
support for Taiwan’s participation in other international
organizations;
•HCON 132 IH
Whereas in 1996 the European Parliament passed, and the
United States House of Representatives endorsed, a reso-
lution urging support for Taiwan’s attempts to secure
better representation in international organizations;
Whereas Taiwan has repeatedly stated that its participation
in international organizations is one of parallel represen-
tation without prejudice to the current status of Main-
land China in the international community and does not
represent a challenge to that status;
Whereas the United Nations and other international organi-
zations have established precedents concerning parallel
representation, such as the cases of South Korea and
North Korea and the former two Germanies;
Whereas the decision of the United States to establish diplo-
matic relations with Mainland China, as expressed in the
Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96–8), is based ‘‘upon
the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be deter-
mined by peaceful means’’; and
Whereas Taiwan’s participation in international organizations
would not prevent or imperil the eventual resolution of
disputes between Taiwan and Mainland China any more
than the participation in international organizations by
the former West Germany and the former East Germany
prevented the eventual settlement of Germany’s national
status by peaceful and democratic means: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
•HCON 132 IH
(1) Taiwan deserves full participation, including
a seat, in the United Nations and its related agen-
cies; and
(2) the Government of the United States should
immediately encourage the United Nations to take
action by considering the unique situation of Taiwan
in the international community and adopting a com-
prehensive solution to accommodate Taiwan in the
United Nations and its related agencies.
Æ