For Immediate Release
Washington DC – May 4, 2017
Contact: (202) 547-3686
U.S. Senators Call For Lifting Of All Restrictions On High-Level Visits From Taiwan Including The President
Today, May 4, 2017, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Taiwan Travel Act, legislation that encourages visits between U.S. and Taiwanese officials at all levels.
The “Taiwan Travel Act” is binding legislation that concludes that “the United States Government should encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels.” Earlier, on January 13, 2017, i.e. the very same day that Taiwan’s democratically elected president Tsai Ing-wen stopped over in San Francisco on her way home from South America, Representatives Steve Chabot (R-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), plus House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced the “Taiwan Travel Act” in the House of Representatives.
The bill states that Congress finds that: “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 in the spring of 2016, 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 in June 2016, Senator Rubio came to meet with President Tsai in her Miami hotel.
FAPA President Peter Chen states: “While the bill is before Congress, the current administration sending a U.S. cabinet member to Taiwan would clearly demonstrate the closeness of the long-time excellent and very strong U.S.-Taiwan relationship.”
Mr. Chen adds: “This is an important signal from the Senate that the present approach regarding bilateral contacts and communication between the U.S. and Taiwan is outdated, and not conducive to peace and stability in the region.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.”
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，2017年5月4日，美國參議員魯比奧(Marco Rubio， R-FL) ，參議員布朗(Sherrod Brown， D-OH)，參議員殷荷菲(Jim Inhofe，R-OK)，參議員梅南德茲(Bob Menendez，D-NJ)，參議員賈德納(Cory Gardner，R-CO)，與參議員彼德斯(Gary Peters，D-MI)共同提出了「台灣旅行法」。
這項具有約束力的法案聲明「美國政策應當促進美國與台灣之間所有層級互訪」。在今年的一月十三日，台灣民選總統由南美回台過境舊金山拜訪的同一日，夏波眾議員(Steve Chabot)、薛曼眾議員(Brad Sherman)以及外交委員會主席羅伊斯(Ed Royce) 也在眾議院中提出了該項法案。
這項法案提到，美國國會認為「自從台灣關係法制定後，由於美國自身對於台灣高層訪美的自我設限，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，「美國政策理應當促進美國與台灣之間所有層級的互訪。」
曾參與美國共和黨總統候選人初選的的魯比奧參議員是台灣長久以來的盟友，更是參院台灣國會連線的成員之一。在2016年的春天，魯比奧參議員通過了一項重新確認台灣關係法與六項保證為台美關係基石的法案。當台灣總統蔡英文於2016年六月在她前往巴拿馬的途中過境邁阿密時，魯比奧參議員更特地前往她下榻的旅館，與她會面。
台灣人公共事務會會長陳正義說道：「這項法案進入國會的同時，若美國現在的行政部門派內閣成員造訪台灣，將能展現台美之間長久以來的堅定關係。」
陳正義補充道：「這是一項參議院釋出的重要訊號，顯示台美雙邊關係中現今的聯絡管道已經過時，對於維持區域和平與穩定已然不足夠。若美國希望強化與維持該區域的民主，那麼它應該要對於已經民主化的國家展現出更多的支持。」
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