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US House approves
pro-Taiwan arms, diplomacy proposals
By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
The US House of Representatives on Friday passed two new measures supporting
Taiwan.
One of the measures was an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act
proposed by Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly, which calls on US President
Barack Obama to sell no fewer than 66 F-16C/D multirole aircraft to Taiwan.
While the amendment has no real power and must still be considered by the US
Senate, it serves to pressure the White House and keep the F-16 issue on the
agenda.
The second measure is a resolution proposed by Michigan Representative Kerry
Bentivolio expressing the ˇ§sense of Congressˇ¨ that the US should allow all
high-level officials from Taiwan to enter the US or its embassies and consulates
under conditions which ˇ§demonstrate appropriate respect for the dignity of such
leaders.ˇ¨
It also calls for all high-level Taiwanese officials to be able to meet with US
officials in government offices including the US Department State and the
Pentagon.
It further advocates allowing high-ranking Taiwanese leaders to pay official
visits to high-level US officials to discuss important issues and make
first-hand assessments of policy.
The resolution has no legislative power, but serves to pressure the Obama
administration to take action.
Under the current complex regulations governing official US-Taiwan interaction,
instituted after the US formally granted diplomatic recognition to the Peopleˇ¦s
Republic of China, US and Taiwan officials can only meet under strictly
controlled conditions.
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