U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: The United States and China

Text: Rohrabacher Criticizes "Quarantine" of Taiwan's President
(Letter to State's Roth on Chen's transit visa)

Representative Dana Rohrabacher (Republican of California) called on the State Department to end its "inappropriate de facto ban and permit elected American officials to conduct informal meetings with (Taiwan's) President Chen," in an August 8 letter to Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Stanley Roth.

Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian is scheduled to stop over in Los Angeles, California Sunday, August 13 on the way to the Caribbean. He was issued a transit visa by the State Department to accommodate his travel itinerary.

The California Republican criticized the Clinton Administration for "bend(ing) over backwards to appease the Chinese communist regime at the expense of our relationship with our democratic ally Taiwan."

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters August 10 that Chen would make "a brief transit of the United States. He's on his way to the Caribbean. He's transiting Los Angeles the 13th, stay overnight, and depart next day, on the 14th."

Permission for transits by Taiwanese leaders, Boucher added, "are done for the safety, comfort, and convenience of the traveler. They're granted on a case-by-case basis. And we understand that the activities of the traveler will be consistent with the purposes of transit."

Boucher said Rohrabacher and other lawmakers seeking to meet with Chen don't need to ask the State Department for permission.

Rohrabacher in his letter said Republican and Democratic lawmakers "have requested to meet privately with President Chen. Thus far, their requests have been denied."

Chen will be greeted on his arrival in Los Angeles by the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) "as a courtesy," Boucher said.

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
August 8, 2000
Honorable Stanley Roth
Assistant Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

I am writing to express my continued disappointment in the manner that the Clinton-Gore Administration continues to bend over backwards to appease the Chinese communist regime at the expense of our relationship with our democratic ally Taiwan. The discourteous and disgraceful quarantine of Taiwan's democratically elected President Chen Shui-bian during his overnight stay in the Los Angeles area this coining weekend is another glaring example of the Administration's supplicant attitude toward the Communist Chinese efforts to isolate and bully the government and people of Taiwan.

As you are aware, a number of Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have requested to meet privately with President Chen. Thus far, their requests have been denied. In order for the United States to retain its role model status as the world's democratic leader, President Chen and his entourage should be permitted to enjoy the basic rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. I request that the Department of State end the inappropriate de facto ban and permit elected American officials to conduct informal Meetings with President Chen.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)