Four US senators on Thursday reintroduced a draft bill to ensure that Taiwan is recognized internationally, as China increases efforts to limit Taipei’s participation on the global scene and poach its diplomatic allies.
US senators Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, John Cornyn and Chris Coons renewed efforts to pass the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, or the TAIPEI Act, which would require the US government to engage with governments worldwide in a bid to support Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition and strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan.
The bill, first introduced in September last year, says that 90 days after its enactment and every 180 days thereafter the “secretary of state or a designee of the secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on actions taken by the US to reaffirm and strengthen Taiwan’s international alliances around the world.”
Photo: Bloomberg
The number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies has fallen to 17 since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office and China lured the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso and El Salvador away, the bill says, adding that it would authorize the US Department of State to downgrade ties with any government that take actions unfavorable to Taiwan, as well as suspending or adjusting foreign assistance to such governments.
According to the draft, the US government should help Taiwan gain participation in international organizations, either as a member or an observer, and express its support for Taiwan’s participation on the global stage when interacting with Beijing.
The TAIPEI Act continues Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s security by conducting “regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan that are tailored to meet the existing and likely future threat” from China.
It also mentions the Taiwan Travel Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump on March 16 last year to encourage mutual visits between Taiwanese and US officials.
“The US should use every tool to support Taiwan’s standing on the international stage,” Gardner said in a statement issued by the senators who sponsored the bill.
“This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to stand up to China’s bullying tactics and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan,” he said.
Rubio said in the statement that he was proud to join his colleagues in reintroducing the legislation that reaffirmed the US’ commitment to its relationship with Taiwan and would allow the department to take diplomatic action against governments that alter diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
“China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan by bullying and pressuring countries, especially in our own hemisphere, cannot go unanswered,” Rubio said.
There was strong, bipartisan support for Taiwan’s free-market democracy and its diplomatic relationships around the world, Coons said, adding that the bill confirmed that.
“Taiwan is a success story in its region, and both now and in the future, the US must continue to emphasize the strength of US-Taiwan ties and maintain the status quo regarding Taiwan’s place in the international community,” Coons said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
A road safety advocacy group yesterday called for reforms to the driver licensing and retraining system after a pedestrian was killed and 15 other people were injured in a two-bus collision in Taipei. “Taiwan’s driver’s licenses are among the easiest to obtain in the world, and there is no mandatory retraining system for drivers,” Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance, a group pushing to reduce pedestrian fatalities, said in a news release. Under the regulations, people who have held a standard car driver’s license for two years and have completed a driver training course are eligible to take a test
RSS