For Immediate Release
Washington DC – September 27, 2016
Contact: (202) 547-3686
U.S. Senator Calls For Lifting Of All Restrictions On High-Level Visits From Taiwan Including The President
Today, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the “Taiwan Travel Act” – binding legislation “declaring that it should be the policy of the United States to encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels.”
The bill reads: “Since the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, relations between the United States and Taiwan have suffered from a lack of communication due to the self-imposed restrictions that the United States maintains on high-level visits with Taiwan.” It concludes that: “the United States Government should encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels.”
Former Republican candidate for president Rubio is a long-time Taiwan supporter and member of the Senate Taiwan Caucus. The Senator introduced and passed a resolution this past spring affirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations. When Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen transited through Miami on her way to Panama last June, Senator Rubio came to meet with President Tsai in her Miami hotel.
FAPA President Peter Chen states: ““This is an important signal from the Senate that the present approach regarding bilateral contacts and communication is outdated, and not conducive to peace and stability in the region. If the US seeks to enhance democracy in the region, it needs to be more supportive to countries that achieved democracy.”
Peter Chen concludes: “We are talking about American soil. It should be the prerogative of the United States only to decide who can visit the Nation’s Capital, not the prerogative of the communist leaders in Beijing.”
美參議員呼籲美國應對台高層互訪(包含台灣總統)解禁
今日，參議員馬可·魯比歐(Senator Marco Rubio)在參院提出了「台灣旅行法」—一項具有約束力的立法 ，聲明「促進美國與台灣之間所有層級互訪應當成為美國政策」。
這項法案提到： 「自台灣關係法(Taiwan Relations Act)的制定以來，因為美國自身法令中對於台灣高層訪美的限制 ，台灣與美國始終缺乏有效的溝通，顯著地阻礙了台美關係的發展。 」因此，作為結論，「美國政府理應當促進美國與台灣之間所有層級 的互訪。」
魯比歐參議員不但曾參投入美共和黨總統參選人初選， 更是多年來支持著台灣的盟友，他亦是「國會台灣連線」 的成員之一。在今年春天，魯比歐參議員提出並通過了一項決議案， 確立「台灣關係法」與「六項保證」作為台美關係的基石， 將台美關係往下一個里程碑推進。 當蔡英文總統在六月前往巴拿馬時， 魯比歐更曾特意至她過境時下榻的地點—邁阿密—與她會面。
台灣人公共事務會會長陳正義強調：「這是參議院釋出的重要訊息 ，代表著對於雙邊的溝通與聯繫來說，目前的模式已經過時，且不足以繼續維持區域的和平。若美國期盼能夠在該區域深化民主，那麼他 們就應該更積極地支持已經民主化的國家。」
陳正義最後說道：「這裡是美國領土，能夠決定誰可以踏上這塊土 地、參訪其首都的，應該只有美國自身；在北京的共產領導們，不應該有置喙的餘地。」
Taiwan Travel Act (S.3397)
