A bill to encourage visits between the US and Taiwan at all levels was passed by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The legislation now moves on to the floor of the House of Representatives.
The bill says that since the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, ties between the US and Taiwan have suffered from insufficient high-level communication due to the self-imposed restrictions that the US maintains on visits by high-ranking officials to Taiwan.
Photo: Huang Chung-shan, Taipei Times
“The United States government should encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels,” the bill says.
At present, senior US government officials rarely visit Taiwan because of Washington’s formal ties with China and a lack of official relations with Taipei.
When then-US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy traveled to Taiwan in 2014, she was the first US Cabinet-level official to visit Taiwan in 14 years.
No other official of that level of seniority has visited since.
In a statement, committee chairman Ed Royce said the bill denounces the current practice of restricting official travel between the two sides and would serve to further strengthen the critical US-Taiwan partnership.
Before the Taiwan travel act can become law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate, before being signed by US President Donald Trump.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) yesterday said the ministry welcomed and thanked the Foreign Affairs Committee for passing the bill, which was proposed by US Representative Steve Chabot, one of the cochairs of the House Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
“The ministry believes the bill fully demonstrates [the US Congress’] support for mutual visits of senior officials from Taiwan and the US, and the advancement of US-Taiwan ties,” Lee said in a statement.
As a similar bill with the same title has been introduced in the US Senate by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the ministry said it would be watching developments closely.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers