HCR 1007 endorsing Taiwan's participation as an observer in the Intern...

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, endorsing Taiwan's participation as an observer in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the twenty-ninth anniversary of sister state relations with the Province of Taiwan in the Republic of China (Taiwan).

WHEREAS, civil aviation plays a pivotal role in promoting business, trade, tourism, and cultural exchange; and

WHEREAS, the development of international civil aviation in a safe and orderly manner is the supreme cause of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); and

WHEREAS, with an excellent geographic location, Taiwan is a key aviation hub for regions in northeastern and southeastern Asia; and

WHEREAS, the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR), bordering the FIRs of Fukuoka, Manila, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, includes fourteen international airways and four domestic airways, providing services for more than one million flights per year; and

WHEREAS, forty million travelers enter, leave, or pass through the Taipei FIR each year, making Taiwan a key part of air navigation in East Asia; and

WHEREAS, currently, more than fifty domestic and foreign airlines operate flights from Taiwan to one hundred ten cities in the world and the annual number of passengers on international flights is approximately thirty million; and

WHEREAS, in 2010, the number of international passengers at Taoyuan International Airport, made it Taiwan's largest airport and sixteenth largest airport worldwide. It also ranks ninth largest for international cargo, making Taiwan one of the busiest airspaces in the world; and

WHEREAS, without Taiwan's participation, international flight plans, regulations, and procedures that the ICAO formulates would be incomplete and unsafe; and

WHEREAS, as an island in the Pacific Ocean, Taiwan is imperiled by rising sea levels and the ravages of extreme weather; and

WHEREAS, it is apparent that to overcome the challenges posed by such an immense factor as climate change, there must be concerted effort and cooperation among the world citizenry; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan's exclusion from meaningful participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been to the detriment of both the Taiwanese people and the global community as Taiwan not only has the means but also the incentive to make a meaningful contribution; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan's request to participate in the ICAO and the UNFCCC is fully in line with the United States government's policy of supporting Taiwan's meaningful participation in the United Nations specialized agencies, and

WHEREAS, on December 7, 1984, the State of South Dakota and the Taiwan Province of

the Republic of China (Taiwan) jointly established a sister state relationship to promote international understanding and goodwill and to strengthen a greater friendship between the residents of South Dakota and Taiwan; and

WHEREAS, over the past twenty-nine years, the bonds of true friendship and a steadfast trade partnership between South Dakota and Taiwan have strengthened, resulting in a better economic, social, and cultural exchange between the two governments; and

WHEREAS, every other year, Taiwan has sent an agricultural trade goodwill mission to South Dakota to demonstrate Taiwan's continuing goodwill and willingness to purchase South Dakota's agricultural products, and the South Dakota agricultural industry has benefitted greatly over the past two decades from the sale of beef, wheat, and corn to Taiwan; and

WHEREAS, the commercial interaction between the State of South Dakota and Taiwan has grown substantially with each passing year, resulting in increased economic growth for both Taiwan and South Dakota:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-Eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the South Dakota Legislature endorses Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as an observer; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the South Dakota Legislature is supportive of all efforts to grant Taiwan official observer status at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the South Dakota Legislature celebrates the twenty-ninth anniversary of sister state relations with the Province of Taiwan in the Republic of China (Taiwan); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to the United States

Secretary of State, the United States Secretary of Transportation, United States Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, each member of the South Dakota Congressional Delegation, and Director General Jack J.C. Yang of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City.