Bill Text: FL S1814 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Sister State Relationship Between Florida and Taiwan
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-28 - Adopted [S1814 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1814-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 1814
By Senator Rodriguez
40-02688-24 20241814__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution expressing appreciation for the sister
3 state relationship with and bilateral economic and
4 cultural ties between the State of Florida and Taiwan.
5
6 WHEREAS, April 10, 2024, marks the 45th anniversary of the
7 enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, which codified in law the
8 basis for continued commercial and cultural relations between
9 the people of the United States and the Taiwanese people, and
10 WHEREAS, the successful conclusion of Taiwan’s most recent
11 presidential election on January 13, 2024, reflects the
12 Taiwanese people’s unwavering commitment to sustaining democracy
13 in the shadow of a mighty adversary, a proud accomplishment that
14 was recognized by the United States Department of State and
15 members of both houses of the United States Congress, including
16 House Speaker Mike Johnson, and
17 WHEREAS, despite unprecedented electoral interference from
18 China through military intimidation, economic coercion, and
19 cognitive warfare prior to the presidential election, the people
20 of Taiwan chose to demonstrate their will to safeguard the
21 values of democracy and freedom by electing Lai Ching-te the
22 next president and Hsiao Bi-khim the next vice president, a
23 testament to Taiwan’s mature democracy, and
24 WHEREAS, on January 25, 2024, President-elect Lai, who
25 serves as Taiwan’s current vice president and will assume the
26 presidency on May 20, 2024, met in Taipei with visiting leaders
27 of the United States House of Representatives Taiwan Caucus,
28 observing that democracy and freedom are core values that the
29 two nations share, and
30 WHEREAS, that meeting built upon the foundation of a March
31 2023 visit to Florida by Vice President-elect Hsiao, during
32 which she met with Governor Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State
33 Cord Byrd, and state legislators in her then-capacity as a
34 representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural
35 Representative Office, which focused on the bilateral
36 relationship between Taiwan and the State of Florida, and
37 WHEREAS, since November 1, 2012, Taiwan has been a member
38 of the United States Visa Waiver Program, which makes two-way
39 travel for business and tourism more convenient, reflecting the
40 cooperation between the United States and Taiwan, and
41 WHEREAS, the launch of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 on June 25,
42 2019, a collaborative United States-Taiwan space mission to
43 establish a constellation of six satellites designed to enhance
44 the accuracy of atmospheric weather prediction, has demonstrated
45 the mutual benefit born of the relations between Florida and
46 Taiwan, and
47 WHEREAS, Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international
48 organizations, including the World Health Assembly, the United
49 Nations, International Criminal Police Organization, and the
50 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and
51 Taiwan’s membership status in both the Asia-Pacific Economic
52 Cooperation and the World Trade Organization, as well as
53 participating, observing, and cooperating with more than 50
54 international organizations, and
55 WHEREAS, Taiwan is the United States’ ninth-largest trading
56 partner, as well as Florida’s fourth-largest bilateral
57 merchandise trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, and
58 WHEREAS, this year marks the 32nd anniversary of the
59 enactment of the sister state relationship shared between the
60 State of Florida and Taiwan, and
61 WHEREAS, several sister city relations exist between
62 Florida and Taiwan, such as between Miami-Dade County and New
63 Taipei City; the City of Orlando and Tainan City; the City of
64 Fort Lauderdale, the City of Miami, and the City of Pensacola
65 and Kaohsiung City; the City of Sunny Isles Beach and Hengchun
66 Township; the City of Doral and the Xizhi District of New Taipei
67 City; the City of Kissimmee with Hualien City and Miaoli City;
68 the City of North Miami Beach and the Pingzhen District of
69 Taoyuan City; the City of Tavares and the Xindian District of
70 New Taipei City; and the Port of Miami and the Port of
71 Kaohsiung, and
72 WHEREAS, the economic bonds between the United States and
73 Taiwan continue to flourish, and these bonds were reinforced by
74 the signing of H.R. 4004, the United States-Taiwan Initiative on
75 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act, in August
76 2023, by Taiwan’s inclusion in the 11-country Comprehensive and
77 Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Agreement and the Indo
78 Pacific Economic Framework, and by the strengthening of the
79 already significant trade relationship between the United States
80 and Taiwan, NOW, THEREFORE,
81
82 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
83
84 That the Senate expresses its appreciation for the sister
85 state relationship between the State of Florida and Taiwan.
86 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
87 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be transmitted to President Tsai
88 Ing-wen through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami
89 and to the Executive Office of the Governor as a tangible token
90 of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.
