Three US senators have proposed a bill that would allow for financial sanctions against China in the event of an attack or invasion of Taiwan.
US senators Rick Scott, Kevin Cramer and John Kennedy introduced the deterring communist Chinese aggression against Taiwan through financial sanctions act, which would seek to impose financial sanctions on Beijing should it invade, blockade or enact regime change in Taiwan through the use of force.
The act would sever all financial transactions between the US and China in such an event, and also require the US president to implement sanctions within 30 days.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Sanctions would include a ban on transactions of property, the revocation of visas and restrictions on Chinese nationals involved in the use of force against Taiwan; restrictions on transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions with China; a ban on investment in equity or debt of sanctioned persons; and a prohibition against financial engagement with Chinese military and software companies, financial messaging systems and digital currencies.
Taiwan is one of the US’ most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region, and its peace and stability are in Washington’s security and economic interests, Scott said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We have watched communist China’s increasingly frequent actions to harass and intimidate the Taiwanese people, through regular military encroachments and cyberattacks. We must be clear that these intimidation tactics will not be ignored,” the statement said.
“As Beijing quietly watches [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion of and assault on Ukraine, America must stand strongly behind our partners in democracy, and leave no ambiguity as to our resolve to condemn and punish tyrants who attack our partners,” it said.
He said that passing the bill would make clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that if he follows Putin’s example, he would face economic isolation and severe financial sanctions.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS