The US House of Representatives and Senate on Wednesday introduced resolutions reaffirming US ties with Taiwan and voicing concern over Chinese interference in Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections tomorrow, while the White House said it plans to send an unofficial delegation to the nation after the elections.
US senators Dan Sullivan, a Republican, and Tim Kaine, a Democrat, introduced a bipartisan resolution “commending Taiwan for its commitment to democratic elections and institutions, despite ongoing threats from the Chinese Communist Party,” Sullivan’s office said in a news release.
US representatives Gerry Connolly, Mario Diaz-Balart, Ami Bera and Andy Barr, cochairs of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus, introduced a companion resolution in the US House of Representatives, Connolly’s office said.
Photo: Reuters
The resolutions were cosponsored by more than one-third of US senators and 35 US representatives, including House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party chair Mike Gallagher, committee ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi and House Committee on Foreign Affairs chair Michael McCaul.
Sullivan, who has “repeatedly praised Taiwan for its democratic achievements,” called on the US to “show steady, unwavering commitment and resolve in support of Taiwan’s democracy” between the elections tomorrow and the presidential inauguration on May 20, the news release said.
It is also critical for the US to “enhance cross-strait deterrence” in this “volatile and potentially dangerous time,” he said.
He praised Taiwan as “one of the freest countries in the world” and said that elections in the nation pose threats to “the central premise of the Chinese Communist Party — that one dictator ruling in perpetuity knows what’s best for 1.4 billion people.”
“Millions of Chinese on the mainland will be watching Taiwan’s upcoming election and asking the question: ‘Why can’t we do that?’ This is a giant vulnerability for [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平),” he said.
It is important that “the Taiwanese people know that they have our [the US’] support,” Kaine said, adding that Chinese attempts to interfere in the elections “will not be tolerated.”
Connolly underlined the importance of “institutions and rejecting authoritarianism at home and abroad,” while McCaul called on democracies around the world to support Taiwan against Beijing’s disinformation campaign.
Taipei’s close ties with the US are “key to our national security, benefits the global community and is critical to prosperity in the region,” Diaz-Balart said.
The elections are a testament to the Taiwanese people’s “strong commitment to democratic governance despite disinformation and coercion from Beijing,” Bera said.
“The liberty enjoyed by the residents of Taiwan stands in stark contrast to the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ experienced by the residents of the People’s Republic of China,” the resolutions read.
Americans and Taiwanese have been standing “as partners against coercion, threats of war and armed attacks” from China since 1949, they say.
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, the US Congress is “committed to continuing a strong partnership across diplomatic, information, military, economic and cultural domains,” they say.
The resolutions also affirm the US Congress’ commitment to supporting Taiwan’s self-defense capacity and the freedom of its people “through effective deterrence using all elements of United States power.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US Congress for showing strong bipartisan support for democracy and freedom in Taiwan through legislation ahead of the elections.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the administration of US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the US would send an unofficial delegation of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the elections.
The official confirmed the plan without offering more details, but said such a face-to-face meeting was the “most effective way” to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey US policy in the region.
The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said the White House believed the move would contribute to peace and stability in the region.
The official acknowledged a period of higher tensions lies ahead with Taiwan’s elections, but said there have been “contingency conversations” in the US government for dealing with them.
The official added that the White House is also engaging with Beijing on Taiwan to manage “difficult situations” and avoid unintended conflict.
The administration opposes any outside interference in Taiwan’s election and has repeatedly raised the concern with Chinese officials, they added.
Additional reporting by AP
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