2020 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 47
BY SENATOR PEACOCK AND REPRESENTATIVES BUTLER, CARRIER, DAVIS,
FARNUM, FONTENOT, FRIEMAN, HILFERTY, MARINO,
GREGORY MILLER, MOORE, NEWELL, CHARLES OWEN, RISER,
STAGNI, THOMPSON AND WRIGHT
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To encourage further economic ties and friendship between the state of Louisiana and the
Republic of China (Taiwan).
WHEREAS, for decades the United States of America and the Republic of China
(Taiwan) have fostered a close relationship of enormous mutual economic, cultural, and
strategic benefit; and
WHEREAS, bilateral trade between the United States and Taiwan reached $85.5
billion in 2019, making Taiwan the tenth largest trading partner of the United States; and
WHEREAS, both nations could realize further economic gains through establishing
a free trade agreement and by enhancing platforms of the Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement (TIFA) and Digital Economy Forum (DEF); and
WHEREAS, for decades, Taiwanese companies, including Formosa Plastics
Corporation, Formosa Petrochemical Corporation, Nan Ya Plastic Corporation, Westlake
Chemical Corporation, and CPC Corporation, have announced multi-billion dollar
investments in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan has been routinely dispatching a substantial delegation to
participate in the SelectUSA Investment Summit since 2013; and
WHEREAS, United States exports to Taiwan, combined with Taiwan's investment
in the United States, support over 370,000 well-paying jobs; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan imported nearly $4.3 billion worth of United States farm
products in 2018, and in 2019, the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission to the
United States signed letters of intent on soybeans, corn, wheat, and meat, for the purchase
of United States grains worth $2.7 billion and beef worth $960 million in 2020-2021; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan is a beacon of democracy in Asia, rated as "free" by Freedom
House twenty-one years in a row; and
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WHEREAS, on January 11, 2020, the people of Taiwan made history with nearly
seventy-five percent of eligible voters participating in the general election, and proving to
the world that democracy works as President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President-elect Lai
Ching-te were elected to office with historic voter turnout of 8.17 million voters; and
WHEREAS, the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Competitiveness Report
rated Taiwan twelfth among one hundred forty-one economies and recognized Taiwan's
innovation capability as one of the top four in the world, resulting from wide-ranging
regulatory efforts to build an environment conducive to financial sector development and
foreign direct investment, and underscoring the impact of Taiwan's 5+2 industrial innovation
initiative targeting the high-growth sectors of biotech and pharmaceuticals, green energy,
national defense, smart machinery, and Internet of Things as well as the circular economy
and a new agriculture; and
WHEREAS, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 has continued to provide a sturdy
foundation for robust U.S.-Taiwan relations to flourish for forty-one years; and
WHEREAS, both countries have affirmed their partnership in areas of international
humanitarian assistance, public health, and technology under the Global Cooperation and
Training Framework (GCTF) established in June of 2015, and the Taiwan Travel Act of
2018 to encourage high-level officials' visits between the United States and Taiwan; and
WHEREAS, this year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Louisiana-Taiwan
sister-state relations, which have nurtured and maintained a friendship built upon
unwavering bonds beneficial and rewarding for both governments and their citizens now and
in the future; and
WHEREAS, as evidence of the friendship and bond shared between Taiwan and
Louisiana, Taiwan provided generous support during the COVID-19 public health
emergency by donating one hundred thousand face masks to the state in April of 2020; and
WHEREAS, travel from Taiwan to the United States has increased by approximately
sixty percent since Taiwan's participation in the United States Visa Waiver program; and
WHEREAS, in November of 2017, Taiwan joined the United States Global Entry
program with the hope that such efforts will continue to promote tourism and encourage
exchanges between the two nations; and
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WHEREAS, since nontraditional security threats are increasing, the meaningful
participation and inclusion of Taiwan to the International Criminal Police Organization
(INTERPOL), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the World Health Organization
(WHO) would be beneficial to all nations and their people.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
encourage closer economic relationships between the United States and Taiwan by
negotiating a free trade agreement between the two countries, commends Taiwan's inclusion
in the United States Global Entry and Visa Waiver program to encourage economic and
cultural exchanges, supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in the INTERPOL, ICAO,
UNFCCC, and WHO, and celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of the sister-state
relationship between Louisiana and Taiwan.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Mr. Peter C.Y. Chen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in
Houston, Texas, and the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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