A group of US senators across party lines on Tuesday introduced a bill that would cement two-way ties with Taiwan and support its international presence, as the Taiwan Relations Act is next month to mark its 40th anniversary.
US Senator Tom Cotton said in a statement that he has introduced legislation with five other senators that “would enhance the US-Taiwan relationship and bolster Taiwan’s participation in the international community.”
“Taiwan is a vital democratic partner of the US. Forty years after the Taiwan Relations Act was signed into law, our bilateral ties should reflect this reality,” Cotton said.
Screengrab from Tom Cotton’s Twitter feed
Called the Taiwan Assurance Act, the legislation “would deepen bilateral security, economic and cultural relations, while also sending a message that China’s aggressive cross-strait behavior will not be tolerated,” he said.
US Senator Robert Menendez, a bill cosponsor, said that he believes the US Congress needs to make a statement of support for Taiwan 40 years after the Taiwan Relations Act was passed in April 1979.
“It is critical that congress speak with one voice about the importance of maintaining Taiwan’s diplomatic space, deepening our ties with Taipei and assuring the people of Taiwan have a voice in determining their own future,” Menendez said.
Another cosponsor, US Senator Marco Rubio, said that the US must continue to enhance its strategic relationship with Taiwan against an increasingly aggressive China.
“Taiwan is an important democratic partner whose security is critical to advancing America’s national security interests in the Indo-Pacific [region],” he said.
The Taiwan Assurance Act would require the US president to review the US Department of State’s guidelines on relations with Taiwan and direct the US secretary of defense to work to include Taiwan in bilateral and multilateral military training exercises, the statement said.
It would also mandate that a flag or general officer serve as the US defense attache in Taipei and that the US would continue to push for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
The bill expresses congressional support for Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy, regular US arms sales to Taiwan and the resumption of bilateral trade talks between the US and Taiwan.
To become law, the measure needs to pass the Senate and the House of Representatives, and be signed into law by US President Donald Trump.
Its passage would likely rankle Beijing as the US and China are edging toward a possible deal to ease a months-long tariff dispute.
US Representative Michael McCaul said he plans to introduce companion legislation in the House.
Additional reporting by Reuters
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS