Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of our committee for introducing this excellent piece of legislation and for his leadership in our committee. I am very pleased to speak in favor of this legislation which assists Taiwan, one of our most valued allies, in obtaining observer status at the ICAO, or the International Civil Aviation Organization. Taiwan is a major hub for international air travel; and, particularly, it serves as the link between Northeast and Southeast Asia and to Europe and the United States. And now that Taiwan has joined the Visa Waiver Program, travel between our two nations will undoubtedly increase. Almost 1.3 million flights pass over the region each year; but due to the ill advised appeasement of China at the United Nations, Taiwan must receive its international aviation safety and security information secondhand. Taiwan's exclusion from international organizations like ICAO is a short-sighted and dangerous practice. It ends up hurting the international community as much as it does the Taiwanese people themselves. Preventing a significant player in aviation like Taiwan from participating in ICAO threatens the entire international community which depends on the application of universal aviation standards. Unfortunately, attempts to placate China at the feeble United Nations are nothing new and are a reminder that that organization lacks seriousness.…”