House Concurrent Resolution 301

Introduced July 17, 1998

Whereas at no time since the establishment of the People's

Republic of China on October 1, 1949, has Taiwan been under

the control of the People's Republic of China;

Whereas the United States began its long, peaceful, friendly

relationship with Taiwan in 1949;

Whereas since the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in

1979, the policy of the United States has been based on the

expectation that the further relationship between the People's

Republic of China and Taiwan would be determined by

peaceful means;

Whereas in March 1996, the People's Republic of China held

provocative military maneuvers including missile launch

exercises in the Taiwan Strait, in an attempt to intimidate the

people of Taiwan during their historic, free, and democratic

Presidential election;

Whereas officials of the People's Republic of China refuse to

renounce the use of force against democratic Taiwan;

Whereas Taiwan has achieved significant political and

economic strength as one of the world's premier democracies

and as the 19th largest economy in the world;

Whereas Taiwan is the 7th largest trading partner of the

United States;

Whereas no agreements exist between the People's Republic

of China and Taiwan that determine the future status of Taiwan;

and

Whereas the House of Representatives passed a resolution by

a vote of 411-0 in June 1998 urging the President to seek,

during his recent summit meeting in Beijing, a public renunciation

by the People's Republic of China of any use of force, or threat

of use of force, against democratic Taiwan:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

concurring), That Congress--

1.affirms its longstanding commitment to Taiwan and the

people of Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan

Relations Act (Public Law 96-8);

2.affirms its expectation, consistent with the Taiwan

Relations Act, that the future status of Taiwan will be

determined by peaceful means, and that the people of

both sides of the Taiwan Strait should determine their

own future, and considers any effort to determine or

influence the future status of Taiwan by other than

peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the

Western Pacific region and of grave concern to the

United States;

3.affirms its commitment, consistent with the Taiwan

Relations Act, to make available to Taiwan such defense

articles and defense services, including appropriate

ballistic missile defenses, in such quantities as may be

necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient

self-defense capability;

4.affirms its commitment, consistent with the Taiwan

Relations Act, that only the President and Congress shall

determine the nature and quantity of defense articles and

services for Taiwan based solely upon their judgment of

the defensive needs of Taiwan;

5.urges the President, once again, to seek a public

renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use

of force, or threat of use of force, against the free people

of Taiwan; and

6.affirms its strong support, in accordance with the spirit of

the Taiwan Relations Act, of appropriate membership for

Taiwan in international financial institutions and other