For Immediate Release
Washington DC – June 26, 2002
Contact: (202) 547-3686
Senator Torricelli Introduces Resolution Stating That Future Of Taiwan Should Be Decided With Express Consent Of The People
On June 25, Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) introduced a resolution in the Senate (S.Con.Res.123) concluding that: It is United States policy that the future of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully, through a democratic mechanism such as a plebiscite and with the express consent of the people of Taiwan.
An almost similar resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives in September 2001.
The resolution concludes, it is the policy of the United States that Taiwan’s future should be decided by the people of Taiwan without outside threats, intimidation, or interference. – a clause that echoes President Bush=s commitment made in early 2001 when he stated that the United States would do whatever it takes to help Taiwan defend itself if threatened by China.
According to the resolution, the right of self-determination exists as a fundamental right of all people. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applied the very principle on Taiwan when he stated in March 2000, The two sides of the Taiwan Strait issue must be settled peacefully and the future relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan must be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of Taiwan.
FAPA President Ming-chi Wu, Ph.D. says, Over the past three years, the principle that Taiwan’s future should be determined with the assent/consent of the people of Taiwan have gathered a lot of steam in the U.S. All these reaffirmations of this principle are leading up to the moment when the principle is fully ingrained in U.S. foreign policy!
If the people of Taiwan decide to exercise the right of self-determination and opt for independence through a democratic mechanism such as a plebiscite, then it will be hard for the US -being a revolutionary nation itself- to not respect that democratically constituted wish of the 23 million people of Taiwan.
We at FAPA will do whatever it takes to bring both House and Senate resolutions to the floor during the first week of September 2002, which marks the 51st anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty – the legal basis of the right of self-determination of the people of Taiwan.
參議院首度引進「台灣前途需得台灣人民同意」決議案
參議員托里西利於今日提出一決議案（第123號決議案），表示美國政策應支持台灣前途由台灣人民在不受任何外力及武力的脅迫下，經由民主機制以和平方式解決。此決議案是呼應眾議院在去年由吳振偉(David Wu, D-OR)，魏克斯勒(Robert Wexler, D-FL) 及唐克多(Tom Tancredo, R-CO) 議員所引進的第二二一號決議案。
此決議案以法理與事實做例證，支持台灣前途應獲得台灣人民同意一原則。決議案內容表示，人民自決權為基本人權可以說是為聯合國與美國長期以來所認同的。第二次世界大戰後，「舊金山和平條約」為台灣前途未定論的法理基礎，而根據1939年蒙特維特國際會議所裁定如何定義一主權國家的國際法，台灣完全符合此法所規定為一主權國家的各項條件；加上台灣2000年的總統選舉，奠定了台灣為一民主國家的事實，也因此，共和及民主兩黨在2000年的政黨白皮書，以及副國務卿阿米塔吉於參院外委會的聽證會上，均表明任何攸關台灣前途的決定，必須獲得台灣大多數人民的同意。
台灣人公共事務會（FAPA）代理會長吳明基表示：「台灣已正式邁入民主國家之列，如台灣前途這種攸關人民安危的重大議題，絕對須要獲得台灣人民的同意，這是台灣政府須堅持的最後底線。如果當台灣人民透過民主程序，選擇獨立為台灣未來前途走向時，如同參議員赫姆斯（Jesse Helms, R-NC）曾表示的，美國身為一革命而來的國家，人民自決原則是美國立國之根本，更不應該替台灣人民先行否決他們選擇獨立的意願。FAPA希望，當美國及世界各國均支持東帝汶享有人民自決權時，台灣，身為一繁榮的民主國家，更應得到相同的支持才是！」
FAPA預計目前參眾兩院均引進此決議案後，將在九月初聯合國召開年度大會時，在兩院同時通過此案。這是FAPA第三度推動此案，早於2000年底，克羅利議員(Joseph Crowely, D-NY) 即引進類似的決議案，可惜當時國會馬上休會，無法有下一步的動作；而去年雖在眾議院引進此案，但因適逢九一一事件，仍無法通過；今年由於參議院也跟著引進此案，可說是年年有進展，FAPA希望藉由決議案的引進，能喚起國會友人對此議題的認識及重視，並進而全面支持。
S.Con.Res.123