HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1007
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.
Adopted by the House of Representatives,
February 20, 2013
Concurred in by the Senate,
February 26, 2013
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Brian Gosch
Speaker of the House
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Arlene Kvislen
Chief Clerk of the House
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Matt Michels
President of the Senate
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Jeannette Schipper
Secretary of the Senate
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