[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 542 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 542
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States Government
should continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan
following the January 2012 presidential and legislative elections in
Taiwan.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2012
Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Begich) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States Government
should continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan
following the January 2012 presidential and legislative elections in
Taiwan.
Whereas, for many years, Taiwan has been a strong and cooperative partner of the
United States;
Whereas the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), the cornerstone
of United States-Taiwan relations, declares that ``the preservation and
enhancement of the human rights of all the people of Taiwan are hereby
reaffirmed as objectives of the United States'';
Whereas, since the lifting of martial law in 1987, the people of Taiwan have
amply demonstrated their desire for democratic governance, as well as
their commitment to human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law;
Whereas, since their first democratic presidential election in 1996, the people
of Taiwan have conducted four more presidential elections, as well as
successive elections for members of their national legislature, numerous
local elections, and two national referendums;
Whereas Taiwan conducted its latest presidential and legislative elections on
January 14, 2012;
Whereas, on January 14, 2012, Mr. Ma Ying-jeou, the incumbent and the nominee of
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was re-elected as the President of
Taiwan with 51.6 percent of the vote, while in the 113-member
legislature the KMT won 64 seats, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
won 40 seats, and the People's First Party (PFP), the Taiwan Solidarity
Union (TSU), and other non-partisan independent candidates each won 3
seats;
Whereas an international election observation mission made up of 19 observers
from 8 countries, invited by the International Committee for Fair
Elections in Taiwan (ICFET), observed the January 14, 2012, elections in
Taiwan;
Whereas the final report of the mission, made up of observers from Australia,
Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United
States, was recently presented in Taiwan;
Whereas the final report of the mission included--
(1) a finding that the elections were mostly free but only partly fair;
(2) a finding that the date selected for the election made it more
convenient for Taiwan businessmen in China to return for the vote, but made
it more difficult for students to return to their home towns to vote, and a
recommendation that the household registration system should be changed to
allow people to vote where they actually work or study in Taiwan, ending
the need to travel long distances to vote;
(3) a finding that vote buying and vote betting remains an issue of
concern, and recommendations that stiffer penalties be put in place for
candidates who buy votes, such as disqualification from running in future
elections, and that the political parties do more to prevent individual
candidates from engaging in vote buying;
(4) a finding that major violations of principles of administrative
neutrality during the elections by government officials occurred, and a
recommendation that civil service and non-elected offices need to be
further de-politicized;
(5) a finding that verified data does not exist on campaign financial
resources and expenditures and it seemed likely that campaign spending
exceeded campaign finance limits, and recommendations that enforcement and
public promotion of campaign spending laws be strengthened and loopholes
closed and that the longstanding issue of KMT party assets, including their
source, use, and investments be resolved;
(6) a finding that the Government of the People's Republic of China
attempted to influence the elections by sending agricultural purchasing
missions to southern Taiwan as a sign of support for the sitting President,
reducing the number of tourist groups allowed to travel to Taiwan to signal
the ability to reduce tourism if the ``wrong candidate'' won, and by
discounting flights from China to Taiwan to make it easier for Taiwanese
businessmen living in China to return to Taiwan to vote;
(7) a finding that actions and statements by the United States
Government and its officials might have influenced the elections, noting
that in the three months preceding the election, there were more visits by
high-level United States officials to Taipei than during any calendar year
in recent history; less than one month before the elections, the Department
of State announced Taiwan's candidacy for participation in the visa waiver
program; and a senior United States official stated anonymously through the
Financial Times that the DPP's presidential candidate Tsai ``left us with
distinct doubts about whether she is both willing and able to continue the
stability in cross-Strait relations the region has enjoyed in recent
years''; and
(8) a finding that media outlets gave preferential treatment to a
particular party or candidate based on the outlet's political affiliation;
Whereas Taiwan's native-grown democratic experience serves as a model for
countries in the region and around the world aspiring to establish
democratic rule;
Whereas Taiwan's free and open society plays a stabilizing role in the Asia
Pacific region and is thus conducive to the interests of states of the
region, including the United States, in furthering peace, prosperity and
stability; and
Whereas the United States remains committed to the continued strengthening and
development of democratic institutions in Taiwan, and to ensuring the
ability of the people of Taiwan to determine their own future free from
outside interference or coercion: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) applauds the progress made by the people of Taiwan
toward the consolidation of democracy over the past two
decades, and commends their enduring commitment to the values
of democracy, rule of law, and the protection of human rights;
(2) encourages the people and the Government of Taiwan to
take steps to continue to strengthen the protection of
democratic values and human rights in their country, including
freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the
press;
(3) encourages the people and the Government of Taiwan to
take into consideration the conclusions and recommendations of
international election monitoring missions, including the final
International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) report, as
they seek to strengthen their democratic practices and human
rights protections;
(4) urges the President and Government of the United States
to continue to support democracy and human rights in Taiwan;
(5) encourages all outside parties to remain neutral in
Taiwan's elections; and
(6) affirms that the future of Taiwan should be resolved
peacefully, in accordance with democratic principles, and with
the assent of the people of Taiwan.
<all>