Mitt Romney

I would hate for us, in our concern about China's interference in the region with the people of Taiwan, to do something or say something as a body or as individuals that would precipitate or give an excuse to China to take action they…

Taiwan is not some small outpost. It is comprised, as the chairman indicated, of almost 25 million people.

The more specific we might be in advance... about the economic consequence of China using coercive means to impose its will on Taiwan would, potentially, be helpful in dissuading them from using such means.

There are many fronts on which we would like China to take a different course.

Somehow they are getting along just fine, and the consequence was not as great as they might have once feared.

What is our strategy with regards to convincing the Chinese not to play a heavy hand with regards to Taiwan?

The Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand, believes that it should be free to usurp the will of the people of Taiwan.

The United States of America believes that the people of Taiwan should be allowed to determine their own destiny.

The question today is how America, a nation that believes in the dignity of humanity, can aid the millions of people of Taiwan to remain free to make their own decisions.

I think it may well be confusing to our public, generally, and perhaps to people on the Hill to consider two things.

I want to underscore something that others have raised, which is the urgency for getting vaccines to the people of Taiwan.

Quite simply, it is a matter of believing that the people of Taiwan should be free to make their own choice.

My reading suggests that what the Communist Chinese Party has done in Hong Kong has solidified in the mind of the Taiwanese people that the idea of one country/two systems is not real.

Each of us have reached a tentative understanding. And so, we’re not looking for adjustments. What we’re looking for is to see whether our colleagues are open to it.

What is the purpose of that from the Chinese standpoint? Is it to silence outspoken individuals?

Our hearts bleed, as we think of what you are enduring, and what your family is enduring.

Why do you believe they felt they could go ahead and do this?

What we are seeing is mass atrocity without mass slaughter. It is the atrocity of genocide without the attendant slaughter of genocide.

The Senate just passed legislation mandating a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing and which I believe is very appropriate.

They could be arrested for doing so under Chinese law.

Elections have consequences. And the Democrats have a very small majority. And, as a result, they can take action on their own.

Clearly, it is in our interest in a very critical nation in the world to see vaccinations that we have available going to Taiwan.

That seems confiscatory.

I mean, I do not have the sources of information that you have, obviously, but it read as if it was almost a failed state.

I am concerned that a lot of that funding is going to end up in corrupt hands.