HR0888 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0888 LRB096 20127 GRL 35663 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Republic of China (Taiwan) has achieved economic and social stability; in the last 2 decades, Taiwan has been lauded as a beacon of democracy for Asia, has dramatically improved its record on human rights, and has taken great steps forward to enter the world arena as a trusted partner; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a strong cultural and economic relationship with Taiwan since the establishment of sister-state relations with Taiwan on August 27, 1992; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan's absence from international organizations dealing with climate change has impeded Taiwan's ability to respond to natural disasters like Typhoon Morakot, which struck Taiwan in the summer of 2009 during an unusually bad typhoon season in the Pacific that was possibly exacerbated by climate change; in addition, the global initiative to tackle climate change has been impaired by the lack of participation (observer status) of Taiwan, the world's 17th-largest economy; and

WHEREAS, The government of Taiwan has expressed its gratitude for the assistance and condolences of the international community in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in 2009, as dozens of international organizations and nations stepped up to help, including the United States, which supplied military equipment for rescue and recovery operations, the European Union, Japan, and the Chinese mainland; and

WHEREAS, Aviation safety has become a major global concern since 2001; Taiwan is a key air transport hub in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 1.35 million flights passing through the Taipei Flight Information Region, and has the world's 15th-largest airport by cargo volume, Taoyuan International Airport; and

WHEREAS, The government of Taiwan has undertaken a policy of "flexible diplomacy" in its international relations and a pragmatic approach to China, having completed a number of cross-strait liberalization measures, including regular, direct passenger flights between mainland China and Taiwan and other goodwill measures, resulting in reciprocal gestures and rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we affirm our support for the participation of Taiwan in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to increase Taiwan's international space and contribution to the global community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago.