In a move reflecting enormous goodwill, 17 members of US Congress have introduced a resolution offering uncompromising support for the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to mark the upcoming 30th anniversary of its enactment.
The resolution reaffirms “unwavering commitment” to the TRA and “supports the strong and deepening relationship between the US and Taiwan.”
It was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and insiders said it was “almost certain” to pass well before the April 10 anniversary.
“By introducing this resolution at this historic juncture, members of Congress have voiced their firm commitment and strong support for Taiwan,” a spokesman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington (TECRO) said.
“This is of profound significance to US-ROC [Republic of China] relations,” he said.
The resolution was sponsored by representatives Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
The cosponsors included Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, nine Democrats and five other Republicans.
Congressional analysts said the resolution was important in that it would act as a reminder to Congress of its significant commitments to Taiwan, while reaffirming them at the same time.
The resolution also leads the way in inviting the administration of US President Barack Obama to offer similar support.
The TRA was passed in 1979 and affirmed that the US decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China was based on the expectation that the future of Taiwan would be determined by peaceful means.
The new resolution specifically draws attention to how the TRA commits the US to providing “defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.”
It also recalls that the TRA makes it the policy of the US to maintain Taiwan’s capacity to resist force or other forms of coercion that would “jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people of Taiwan.”
DEATH OF FELDMAN
In related news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday lamented the sudden passing of Harvey Feldman, a US career diplomat who was one of the original drafters of the TRA and the key man behind the Six Assurances, two landmark documents that defined Taiwan-US relations after the two countries broke ties in 1979.
Feldman was 78 when he died of an aortic dissection at Washington Hospital Center.
Senior TECRO officials are expected to pay condolences to Feldman’s family at a memorial service today.
Describing Feldman as a “longtime supporter and dear friend to Taiwan,” Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, said his passing was a shock to those who knew him well.
“Just last week he attended a forum in Washington. He has also accepted invitations to speak at forums held by various think tanks on the topic of the 30th anniversary of the ratification of TRA,” he said.
Feldman served as a Distinguished Fellow in China Policy at The Heritage Foundation prior to his death and was a frequent speaker at various forums on Taiwan and cross-strait issues.
In recent years, he traveled to Taiwan to observe various elections, including the presidential and legislative races last year.
Having served in the US Foreign Service for more than three decades and on four continents, Feldman is fondly remembered in Taiwan as the man who helped stabilize relations across the Taiwan Strait and US-Taiwan ties after Washington recognized Beijing in 1979, Tseng said.
Tseng said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) and his deputies would send a letter of condolence to Feldman’s family.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS