U.S. congressman submits resolution for formal ties with Taiwan

Washington, June 20 (CNA) U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher submitted a resolution to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday that included urging the United States to resume formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Expressing the sense of Congress as to why the U.S. should do so, Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, said in the resolution that Washington's "one China" policy is "effectively obsolete" and "does not reflect the obvious reality that Taiwan has been an independent and sovereign country for over half a century."

The people of Taiwan have established a vibrant and pluralistic democracy, and Taiwan has never been under the jurisdiction of the communist government in Beijing, which continues to illegitimately claim sovereignty over Taiwan and its 23.5 million citizens, he argued.

As an independent sovereignty, Taiwan maintains diplomatic, cultural, and economic relations with several countries around the world, he went on, noting that Taiwan and the U.S. maintained formal diplomatic relations until 1979.

"Communist China has since used the 'one China' policy to block Taiwan's membership and full participation in international organizations and events, ranging from the United Nations and the World Health Organization to the Olympics," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump should abandon the fundamentally flawed "one China" policy in favor of a more realistic "one China, one Taiwan" policy that recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country, separate from the communist regime in China, he said.

In addition to urging Trump to begin the process of resuming normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Rohrabacher contended that "the president, the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, and other relevant United States officials should aggressively support Taiwan's full participation in the United Nations and any other international organizations of which the United States is a member, and for which statehood is a requirement for membership."

Mike Kuo (郭正光), chairman of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, said Rohrabacher's proposal reflects the reality that more and more people in the U.S. Congress think that the "one China" policy is out of date and that Taiwan, as a democratic country, should be fully and equally accepted by the international community.

Now is a good time to adopt a "one China, one Taiwan" policy to pragmatically reflect this reality, he argued.

Asked to comment, Regine Chen (陳慧蓁), deputy director-general of the Department of North American Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters that any friendly moves made by friends in the U.S. are welcomed by Taiwan's government.

"We will continue to work closely with our friends in the U.S. Congress over the latest developments regarding the proposal," she said.