Tom Lantos: “Monday evening a bipartisan group of us went to New York to welcome the democratically-elected President of Taiwan Chen…”

“Monday evening a bipartisan group of us went to New York to welcome the democratically-elected President of Taiwan Chen Shui-Bian. What a joy it was to see the leader of a country that was destitute and dictatorial just a few decades ago, and it is now a political democracy and one of the most successful economies on the face of this planet. This morning, Mr. Speaker, I welcome on behalf of scores of our colleagues across both sides of this aisle His Holiness the Dhali Lama, a man of remarkable moral authority, who speaks truth to power. I call on the Chinese Government in Beijing to begin a dialogue with this great leader so that the Tibetan people at long last can live, preserving their cultural and religious heritage. The Dhali Lama honors us with his presence and all of us in this body are delighted to welcome him to the United States.”