Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I rise in support of the Taiwan Assurance Act, a bill introduced to deepen and expand U.S.-Taiwan relations. I want to thank Chairman Engel and all those on the other side of the aisle and the gentleman from New Jersey for agreeing to be the lead Democratic cosponsors of this important bill that deepens our ties with Taiwan.

Of note, the bill urges the State Department to eliminate self- imposed restrictions on U.S. diplomatic interactions with Taiwan and to provide Congress access to those policies for the first time.

Prior administrations have applied unnecessary and arbitrary restrictions on their own interactions with officials from Taiwan. At times, these restrictions expanded, apparently in response to complaints by Communist China.

As the body that produced the Taiwan Relations Act, it is necessary and appropriate for Congress to have awareness and a say in how these policies are made. They go well beyond what is required by the carefully crafted TRA, which does not even state that U.S.-Taiwan relations are unofficial.

Since the TRA was enacted in 1979, Taiwan's Government has evolved into a vibrant democracy, while the Chinese Government has become more and more authoritarian.

It is improper to restrict relations with Taiwan to avoid offending the Chinese Communist Party, and it is out of step with reality to keep pretending that Taiwan is anything other than a fully functioning democracy.

Taiwan deserves a more elevated relationship with the United States, and I urge my colleagues to join me in rewarding Taiwan's commitment to democracy by supporting the Taiwan Assurance Act.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just like to, once again, thank Chairman Engel and the entire Foreign Affairs Committee for their enthusiastic support of this measure and their support for the democracy of Taiwan.

I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source