Senate Resolution 107 - Introduced SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 107 BY BLACK A Resolution supporting the Republic of China on Taiwan 1 as a part of the global community. 2 WHEREAS, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has achieved 3 economic and social stability and in the last two 4 decades has been lauded as a beacon of democracy for 5 Asia, has dramatically improved its record on human 6 rights, and has taken great steps forward to enter the 7 world arena as a trusted partner; and 8 WHEREAS, Taiwan’s absence from international 9 organizations dealing with climate change has impeded 10 Taiwan’s ability to respond to natural disasters like 11 Typhoon Morakot, which struck Taiwan in the summer 12 of 2009, an unusually destructive typhoon season in 13 the Pacific that was possibly exacerbated by climate 14 change, and in turn, the global initiative to tackle 15 climate change has been impaired by the lack of 16 participation of Taiwan, the world’s 17th largest 17 economy; and 18 WHEREAS, the Taiwan government is grateful for 19 the assistance and condolences of the international 20 community in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in 2009, as 21 dozens of international organizations and nations 22 stepped up to help, including the United States, which 23 supplied military equipment for rescue and recovery 24 operations, the European Union, Japan, and the Chinese 25 mainland; and 26 WHEREAS, aviation safety has become a major global 27 concern since 2001, and Taiwan is a key air transport 28 -1- LSB 6232SS (2) 83 jr/rj 1/ 2
S.R. 107 hub in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 1.35 million 1 flights passing through the Taipei Flight Information 2 Region, and with the world’s 15th-largest airport by 3 cargo volume, Taoyuan International Airport; and 4 WHEREAS, the Taiwan government has undertaken a 5 policy of “flexible diplomacy” in its international 6 relations and a pragmatic approach to China, having 7 completed a number of cross-strait liberalization 8 measures, including regular, direct passenger 9 flights between mainland China and Taiwan and other 10 goodwill measures, resulting in reciprocal gestures 11 and rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing; NOW 12 THEREFORE, 13 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Iowa Senate 14 affirms its support for the participation of Taiwan 15 in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 16 Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation 17 Organization (ICAO) to increase Taiwan’s international 18 space and contribution to the global community; and 19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of 20 the Senate is hereby directed to send a copy of this 21 Resolution to Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State of 22 the United States; Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer of 23 the UNFCCC; Secretary General Raymond Benjamin of the 24 ICAO; and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in 25 Chicago, Illinois. 26 -2- LSB 6232SS (2) 83 jr/rj 2/ 2