For Immediate Release
Washington DC – July 21, 2005
Contact: (202) 547-3686
House Passes Foreign Relations Authorization Act With Important Taiwan Amendments
Last night, the House passed the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2006 and 2007, with several Taiwan related amendments in it. (351-78 – http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll399.xml)
The first amendment supports high-level visits by Taiwan’s elected leaders. The non-binding amendment (Section 1112) states, “(1) It is in the national interests of the United States to communicate directly with democratically elected and appointed officials of Taiwan, including the President of Taiwan, the Vice-President of Taiwan, the Foreign Minister of Taiwan, and the Defense Minister of Taiwan.” (See: below)
The second non-binding amendment consists of two parts (See: below)
Section 1127(1) reads: “(1) disavows Chinese General Zhu’s recent comments. It reads: “(1) the comments by Chinese General Zhu Chenghu advocating the use of nuclear weapons against the United States are both damaging to United States-China relations and a violation of China’s commitment to resolve its differences with Taiwan peacefully.”
Section 1127(2) reads: “(2) the Government of China should renounce the use of force against Taiwan, disavow General Zhu’s statements, and relieve General Zhu from his command.”
The third and binding amendment (Section 215) authorizes funding for a new AIT building in Taipei. (See: below)
The first amendment was passed by the House International Relations Committee on June 9, 2005. The second amendment was just introduced yesterday on the floor of the House. The third amendment was earlier introduced on June 9, 2005.
FAPA President Ming-chi Wu Ph.D. says: “The first two amendments are intricately related. With rising tension in the Taiwan Strait -and across the Pacific, for that matter- due to General Zhu’s statements last week, direct US-Taiwan dialogue is all the more crucial. There is more and more an urgent need to formalize channels of dialogue between the democratically elected government of Taiwan and the United States. The US must not allow General Zhu’s irresponsible statements to destabilize this important yet fragile relationship.”
Wu concludes: “The next step is passage of a Senate version of this important bill and then both the House and Senate will go into conference to come up with final legislation. It would be a slap in the face of not only the people of Taiwan but all concerned citizens of the United States if these amendments do not survive the process.”
眾議院全院通過國務院授權法案，包括三涉台修正案
眾議院於昨晚通過國務院授權法案，三項涉及台灣的修正案也一併通過。包括為修建美國在台協會新會館的撥款條款；支持台灣高層官員訪美的第1112號條文，以及回應日前中國解放軍高層官員發表以核武威脅美國不當言論的第1127號條款。
支持台灣高層官員訪美的第1112號條款繼六月初於國關委員會全會通過後，昨日也於眾議院內全院通過。此條款表示：「與台灣民選與指派領袖直接對話，包括台灣總統，副總統，外交部長與國防部長，是美國的國家利益。國務院應該遵循美國第103-416號法律，允許台灣高階官員訪問美國，與美國官員商討攸關兩國關心的事宜。國務院應與台灣外交部合作，推動台灣高層官員與其美國對口官員的會面。」
此外，日前中國國防大學防務學院院長、解放軍少將朱成虎語出驚人地宣稱，若美軍干預台海衝突，中國將不惜動用核武反擊美國。眾議院國關委員會全球人權小組主席史密斯特於今日在第1127號修正案特就此強烈譴責中共的流氓行為，並要求中共公開宣布放棄對台動武，並將發言不當的將領撤職查辦。第1127號修正案表示：「(1) 中共將領朱成虎揚言將使用核武對付美國，不但使中美關係惡化，更違反了中國和平解決台灣問題的承諾。(2) 中國政府應放棄以武力侵台，否認朱成虎少將的聲明，並將其撤職查辦。」
第1112號與第215號條款早於今年七月初即獲得國際關係委員會的通過。第1127號條款則是在昨日引進並隨即獲得眾議院的支持。
FAPA會長吳明基表示：「第1112號與第1127號這二項條款其實是息息相關的。在中共將領朱成虎的核武宣言使得兩岸關係更加緊張的此時，台美兩國之間如能有直接溝通的管道顯得格外的重要。民選的台灣政府與美國之間能有正常制度化的溝通與交流，在今日看來有其急迫性。開放台灣高層官員自由訪美不僅可以加強兩國的相互瞭解，更能提昇太平洋區域穩定；這對台灣與美國雙方都相當有利。美國千萬不可讓朱成虎少將的不當宣言破壞了台美關係的穩定性。」
吳明基繼續表示：「下一個步驟，就是於參議院通過這個授權法案，以及參眾兩院召開的協商會議。我們希望藉時這個支持台灣高層官員訪美的條款能夠順利過關，展現美國支持民主盟友的承諾，以免造成台灣人民以及旅美台僑的失望。」
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY2006 & 2007(H.R.2601)