Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HR1483 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R22350 BPG-D
2	2	By: Vo H.R. No. 1483
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5	5	R E S O L U T I O N
6	6	WHEREAS, Taiwan and the United States enjoy a friendly and
7	7	mutually beneficial relationship, and solid commercial,
8	8	educational, and cultural ties can be further strengthened by the
9	9	inclusion of Taiwan in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program; and
10	10	WHEREAS, A full-fledged, stable democracy, Taiwan shares
11	11	with the United States a commitment to democracy, human rights, the
12	12	rule of law, and a market-based economy; moreover, Taiwan is our
13	13	ninth-largest trading partner and a key export market in almost
14	14	every major sector; trade in commercial goods between Taiwan and
15	15	the United States totaled nearly $62 billion in 2010; and
16	16	WHEREAS, The two nations have long maintained close and
17	17	productive cooperation in science and technology, and since 1979,
18	18	they have signed more than 190 science and technology agreements
19	19	under the framework of the Taipei Economic and Cultural
20	20	Representative Office and the American Institute in Taiwan; Taiwan
21	21	has worked very closely with the United States in the field of
22	22	education, and in 2010, more than 26,000 Taiwanese studied in our
23	23	colleges and universities; and
24	24	WHEREAS, These important relationships generate significant
25	25	interpersonal contact and travel, and in 2009, people from Taiwan
26	26	paid more than 500,000 visits to the United States; if admitted to
27	27	the Visa Waiver Program, holders of Taiwan passports could travel
28	28	to the United States without the expense and time-consuming process
29	29	of obtaining a visa, which is expected to boost the number of visits
30	30	for both sightseeing and business purposes; Taiwanese travel to the
31	31	United Kingdom and New Zealand spiked by 35 to 40 percent after
32	32	those countries waived visa obligations, and it is estimated that
33	33	waiving visa requirements for Taiwanese travels in the United
34	34	States could increase tourism revenue by as much as $1.8 billion;
35	35	and
36	36	WHEREAS, In order to gain entry into the Visa Waiver Program,
37	37	a country must have a visa refusal rate below 3 percent, and only
38	38	2.2 percent of Taiwanese visa applications were rejected by the
39	39	United States in fiscal year 2010; about 100 countries, including
40	40	Japan and members of the European Union, offer Taiwan visa
41	41	exemptions on the basis of reciprocity and out of confidence that
42	42	citizens of Taiwan are law-abiding and unlikely to overstay; and
43	43	WHEREAS, Taiwan has already exempted U.S. passport holders
44	44	from visa requirements for visits up to 30 days; by extending
45	45	similar privileges, the United States can facilitate
46	46	people-to-people contacts, enhance cultural links, and expand
47	47	business opportunities and tourism; now, therefore, be it
48	48	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
49	49	Legislature hereby endorse the inclusion of Taiwan in the United
50	50	States Visa Waiver Program; and, be it further
51	51	RESOLVED, That the chief clerk forward official copies of
52	52	this resolution to the president of the United States, to the
53	53	president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
54	54	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
55	55	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
56	56	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
57	57	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.