Dana Rohrabacher: “Today we are sending a message to the world. We are sending a message to the people of Taiwan. We are sending a message…”

“Today we are sending a message to the world. We are sending a message to the people of Taiwan. We are sending a message to the people of China. We are sending a message to the dictators in Beijing. Today we are extending a hand of friendship to President Lee of the Republic of China. We are doing so because his government on Taiwan has liberalized, has reached out to the opposition and permitted rights to exist there which are consistent with what we as Americans believe should be the rights of citizens everywhere. We have seen democratization and a respect for human rights in the Republic of China that places that government now in the family of democratic nations. What we do today is the first step in acknowledging that tremendous step forward that the people of the Republic of China have made, and congratulate the leadership of the Republic of China for believing in those values that are at the heart of the American system and at the soul of the American people. We are also sending a message to the people of China. That message is on the mainland of China, those hundreds of millions of people who suffer under dictatorship, that we are on their side and we are not on the side of their oppressor.”