Posted: February 18, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
 
 

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
 

WASHINGTON – Five members of the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., want to renew debate about President Jimmy Carter's unilateral 1979 decision to sever ties with the elected government of Taiwan in an effort to curry favor with mainland China.

A resolution was introduced in the House Wednesday calling for the Bush administration to scrap its "one China" policy and resume full, formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

In presenting the bill, Tancredo, the leading author of the bipartisan resolution, said that the "one China" policy, in which Washington recognizes Beijing's stance that Taiwan is a part of China, is pure fiction.

"Taiwan is a free, sovereign and independent country that elects its own leaders," he said. "It is not, nor has it ever been a local government of communist China -- and everyone knows that."

He said the time has come "to scrap this intellectually dishonest and antiquated policy in favor of a little consistency and honesty."

"There is absolutely no good reason that the United States cannot maintain the same kind of normal relationship with the democratically elected government in Taiwan that it maintains with the autocratic regime in Beijing," Tancredo continued.