April 29, 2009
The Honorable Dave Reichert
House of Representatives
1730 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4708
Re: Co-Sponsor HCR 18. Support democratic Taiwan.
Dear Representative Reichert:
On January 9, 2009, Rep. John Linder introduced House Concurrent Resolution 18 (H.Con.Res.18) calling for United States diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
It’s time to right a wrong that the US allowed after WWII, the use of Taiwan as a pawn in the game against Communist China and Russia. The US allowed the defeated Chinese Nationalist regime to flee to Taiwan and establish a dictatorship of minority Chinese over the majority local Taiwanese. The US government, especially the US State Department, continues to perpetuate this wrong; discouraging a now democracy from the very thing that we in the US desired, self-determination.
The US government pushed the first local Taiwanese president to not allow a democratic vote on self-determination, and over what? US political and economic expediency; yes our own US State Department is being dictated to by Beijing. Now with US support the Chinese Nationalist are quickly eroding human rights in Taiwan and pushing closer to China. How does this help the US? Showing Beijing that democracy and ideals are for sale? Bowing to the saber-rattling of a self-important and insecure China dictatorship?
It is very important that the US supports and defends the rights of local Taiwanese to self-determination. It is also important that the US stops being silent in the face of the continues lies of China that Taiwan is part of China. In fact Taiwan was a part of the Japanese empire until the end of WWII, when it fell to US Military jurisdiction as all Japanese lands did (Guam, Saipan, Philippines, etc). Prior to this, the Dutch, Spanish, English and many other countries had outposts or controlled parts of Taiwan, the Dutch being first in 1624. In the San Francisco Peace Treaty of April 1952, Japan renounced all right, title, and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores. However, no receiving country was named for this territorial cession. The Republic of China was entrusted with authority over Formosa and the Pescadores based on the specifications of General Order No. 1 of Sept. 2, 1945, issued by General Douglas MacArthur. The Republic of China became a government-in-exile when it moved its central government to occupied Taiwan in mid-December 1949. Any historical documents prior to Japan’s control of Taiwan indicate the Manchus (northern foreigners who conquered China and ruled as the Qing dynasty) controlled only an small section of Taiwan for less than six years as a colony; similar to how several European countries controlled small sections of China as colonies, so shall we say China split from England? Neither therefore could Taiwan have split from the mainland as China keeps repeating.
We must support the right of democratic self-determination. I therefore strongly urge you to co-sponsor HCR 18.
Thank you very much for your support for Taiwan!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
