Title: Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution affirms that the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances will remain cornerstones of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. It encourages increasing engagement between the United States and Taiwan and states that the President should conduct regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan. (The United States made the Six Assurances to Taiwan in 1982, stating that it will not pressure Taiwan to negotiate with China and that it has not agreed to consult with China prior to any arms sales to Taiwan.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 273 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. 
  Connolly, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Sires, and Mr. Diaz-Balart) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 between 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 defense services in such quantity as 
        may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense 
        capability;
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-Taiwan 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 closer economic and 
        security relations over the last four decades 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 global 
        terrorism and to address other global challenges, such as those related 
        to the environment, public health, energy security, education, women's 
        empowerment, digital economy, poverty, and natural disasters;
Whereas the United States-Taiwan partnership has been further strengthened since 
        the 2015 memorandum of understanding establishing the Global Cooperation 
        and Training Framework (GCTF), which has allowed the two parties to 
        cohost many workshops on critical topics, including 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 challenges 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 participation 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 Organization'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 Taiwan's third largest trading partner and 
        with Taiwan the 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 recently on December 31, 2018, with the enactment into law of the 
        Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public 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 Taiwan 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 
appropriate, including mobile, survivable, and cost-effective capabilities 
into its military forces.''; and

    (3) ``The President should encourage the travel of high-level United 
States officials to Taiwan, in accordance with the Taiwan Travel Act.'': 
Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms that the Taiwan Relations Act, together with 
        the Six Assurances, are and will remain cornerstones of United 
        States relations with Taiwan;
            (2) encourages United States officials at all levels to 
        travel to meet with their counterparts in Taiwan, 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 consistent 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 meaningful 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 combating global 
        terrorism, including as a full partner in the Global Coalition 
        to Defeat ISIS, and in addressing other global challenges 
        through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) 
        and other such initiatives;
            (6) underscores the importance of the close people-to-
        people ties cultivated through initiatives such 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 support of United States-Taiwan 
        interests.
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