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US pays tribute to
¡¥six assurances¡¦
REASSURING: Two US Representatives celebrated
the anniversary of the pledges by making an entry in the Congressional record
that Taiwan still enjoys US support
By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
Two members of US Congress ¡X Republican Representative Michael McCaul from Texas
and Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley from Nevada ¡X are commemorating
the 30th anniversary of former US president Ronald Reagan¡¦s ¡§six assurances¡¨ and
the 25th anniversary of the lifting of martial law in Taiwan by entering special
statements in the US Congressional Record.
Both representatives said they were acting ¡§to further underline our unwavering
commitment and affirm our support for the strong and deepening relationship
between the US and Taiwan.¡¨
Reagan issued the ¡§six assurances¡¨ on July 14, 1982, to reaffirm US policy
toward Taiwan and stipulate that the US would not pressure Taiwan to negotiate
with China. On the same date, five years later, then-president Chiang Ching-kuo
(½±¸g°ê) lifted martial law in Taiwan. It had been in place for 38 years ¡X the
longest period of rule by martial law of any regime in the world.
¡§The coincidence in dates of these two critical junctures in Taiwan¡¦s history,
five years apart, highlights the indispensable role that the US and the Taiwan
Relations Act each played in the island¡¦s democratization,¡¨ Formosa Association
for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (°ªÀsºa) said.
¡§Beijing does not believe in the legitimacy of either the ¡¥six assurances¡¦ or
the Taiwan Relations Act because both documents fly in the face of its
aspiration to annex Taiwan by force,¡¨ Kao said.
McCaul and Berkley said in their Congressional statements: ¡§The people of Taiwan
continue to live day after day under the ominous shadow cast by over 1,400 short
and medium-range ballistic missiles that China has aimed at them.¡¨
¡§The PRC [People¡¦s Republic of China] persists in claiming Taiwan as a ¡¥renegade
province¡¦ refusing to renounce the use of force to prevent Taiwan¡¦s formal de
jure independence,¡¨ they added.
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