Plans for a new home for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) took a step forward in the US Congress Wednesday when the House International Relations Committee approved an amendment to a State Department funding bill that would allow spending for the full cost of the new facility.
A similar provision was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March as part of its State Department funding bill, but the full Senate has not yet acted on the measure.
Both measures would replace earlier language that would limit spending to US$75 million, well below current estimates for the cost of the new facility, which is planned to be built in Taipei's Neihu District later this decade.
The new headquarters would move the AIT offices, along with the headquarters of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) to what used to be the Taipei City Driver Training Center on Jinhu Road, on the outskirts of the city.
When AIT signed a 99-year lease on the new 2.6 hectare site Dec. 22, news reports pegged the cost at around US$160 million.
However, in an April 5 letter to the leaders of a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee considering the issue at the time, the four co-chairmen of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus estimated the price at US$143 million.
The Congressional Budget Office, on the other hand, in a March 18 estimate, quoted the State Department as putting the price at US$153 million. The office said that roughly US$20 million had already had been spent on site acquisition and design.
The House committee move allowing full funding came on an amendment to the funding bill by one of the caucus co-chairmen, Sherrod Brown of Ohio. It would change the earlier US$75 million spending limit with the words, "such sums as may be necessary," to reflect the increased estimated cost of the new headquarters.
Congress set the US$75 million limit when it approved construction of the new facility in 2000 by enacting the "American Institute in Taiwan Facilities Enhancement Act."
Brown, in offering his amendment, called the current AIT building on Hsinyi Road "antiquated, poorly located, and inadequate to serve the important interests of the United States in the region."
He bemoaned the fact that now, five years after passage of the bill authorizing the new facility, no money for the project had been allocated.
"With construction of the half-billion dollar US embassy in Beijing underway. US financial, foreign policy, and security interests in the region cannot be met without a new AIT facility," Brown said, echoing the language of the April letter he and the other caucus co-chairmen signed.
He called on all committee members to "show their support for our democratic allies in Taiwan" by making sure the AIT facility is fully funded.
In addition to Brown, the caucus leaders are Steve Chabot, also of Ohio, Dana Rohrabacher of California and Robert Wexler of Florida.
It is not clear when work on the new building will begin, although some earlier reports said that the first dirt could be dug by 2008. The Congressional Budget Office, in its cost estimate, assumed that construction would begin in 2007 and end in 2010.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College