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THE WHITE HOUSECORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
INCOMING
DATE RECEIVED: MAY 25, 1990
NAME OF CORRESPONDENT: MR. CHIN-MING HUA
SUBJECT: EXPRESSES CONCERN REGARDING THE UNFAIRTREATMENT TAIWAN
HAS SUFFERED DURING ITSAPPLYING FOR THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON
TRADEAND TARIFF (GATT)
ID# 144564
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TAIWAN BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONOF AMERICA
5541 NICHOLSON LANE, #200ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20852
(301) 231-5477
President George Bush May 18, 1990White House1600 Penneylvania
AvenueWashington B.C. 20001
Dear Mr. President:
As a group of loyal citizens to the United States, weappreciate
very much your leadership and your kind patronage tothe
Chinese-Americans in your administration.
Mr. President, as you know, the Republic of China (ROC) onTaiwan
had been a close ally fighting hand in hand with theUnited States
during the Second World War. Also, Taiwan hasplayed as an
cooperative role that is constructive to the U.S.interests in its
effort of leading to the economic prosperity andstrategic stability
in the Pacific Asia. Thanks to its materialaffluence and robust
economy, Taiwan has become the fifth largesttrade partner of the
United States in the past several years.This economic relations,
added by cultural exchanges, tends to bea solid basis for the
furthering cooperation between Taiwan andthe United States in the
future.
As Taiwan created an "economic miracle" during the 1970s
and1980s, the ROC government is currently in the process of making
a"political miracle" by accelerating its
politicaldemocratization.
In this context, we strongly concern about the unfair
treatTaiwan__has suffered during__its applying for_he General
Agreementon Trade and TarifT (GATT) as a member. Taiwan's
willingness tocontribute to the international economic community
has beenruthlessly distorted without regard to its good performance
inthat particular, arena. To remedy this unfair situation, we
urgeyou, the President of the United States, to support
Taiwan'seffort in entering the GATT. We are sure that your timely
andvaluable support will be beneficial to the interest of the
UnitedStates and also conducive to the future prosperity of
thePacific-Asian economy.
Thank you for your attention and consideration on
thismatter.
Sincerely yours,
Chin-ming Hua
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DEPUTY UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVEEXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE
PRESIDENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506
Mr. Chin-ming HuaTaiwan Benevolent Association
of America5541 Nicholson Lane, #200Rockville, Maryland 20852
Dear Mr. Hua:
The President has asked me to follow-up on the White
Houseresponse to your letter of May 18, 1990, concerning
theapplication by Taiwan for accession to the deneral Agreement
onTariffs and Trade (GATT). Taiwan's decision to submit a
requestfor GATT contracting party status on January 1, 1990, was
animportant development. With Taiwan's application, we have aunique
opportunity to bring under GATT discipline one of the lastmajor
market-price based trading entities outside the GATTsystem. The
considerations you note in your letter clearlyillustrate the
reasons that Taiwan's inclusion in the GATT systemwill benefit U.S.
bilateral and multilateral trade goals.
Taiwan has tried to avoid political controversy by applying
asthe Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,
ratherthan under a more politically contentious title.
Nevertheless,this request presents political difficulties. While
the GATTdoes not require political sovereignty for GATT
participation,the People's Republic of China strongly objects to
considerationof Taiwan's request for GATT membership, equating this
withpolitical recognition of the Taiwan regime. As a
consequence,the GATT Contracting Parties have delayed placing the
issue onthe Council agenda in order to reflect on the application
and onhow it can be addressed in the GATT.
I continue to believe that the eventual accession of Taiwan
tothe GATT will greatly benefit U.S. commercial and trade
policyinterests, and the international trading system as a whole.
Wewill work with other GATT contracting parties to address
theproblems that face eventual initiation of the GATT review
ofTaiwan's request, and we appreciate your continued support forour
efforts.
Sincerely yours,
JLK:ckj
Julius L. Katz