The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the “Sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Tyranny and Oppression Act” by a vote of 243 to 174.
The legislation — referred to as the Stop CCP Act — enables the “imposition of sanctions on members of the National Communist Party Congress of the People’s Republic of China.”
The act says that the CCP, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), is responsible for “violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy,” “increased aggression against the people of Taiwan” and “acts of repression and genocide against Uighur Muslims.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The text of the proposed law states that if the US president decides that “sanctionable conduct” has taken place, then members of the CCP’s central committee — the party’s main leadership organization composed of about 200 permanent and 160 alternating members — shall be prohibited from buying or selling property in the US.
Furthermore, those leading communist cadres would be ineligible to receive an entry visa to the US or would have existing visas revoked.
The sanctions outlined in the act may also be applied to any “adult family members” of the top-ranking party member and their spouse.
In the text of the act, “sanctionable conduct” is defined as actions that play a “significant role in the development or implementation” of policies that “violate the autonomy of Hong Kong,” “harass, intimidate or result in increased aggression towards the people of Taiwan” or “contribute to political oppression or violation of human rights of individuals or societal groups within the People’s Republic of China, including Uighur Muslims.”
Crucially, the US president must “determine” whether such “sanctionable conduct” has occurred for the measures to go into effect.
Taiwan is mentioned repeatedly in the act sponsored by Republican Representative Lisa McClain of Michigan.
“Since the election of [former] president Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文] as president of Taiwan in 2016, the Government of the People’s Republic of China has intensified its efforts to pressure Taiwan through diplomatic isolation and military provocations,” the act says.
“The rapid modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and recent military maneuvers in and around the Taiwan Strait illustrate a clear threat to Taiwan’s security,” it adds.
The act also reiterates key aspects of the Taiwan Relations Act, highlighting that the US is required by its own law to “maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
Now that the bill has passed the House, it is set to go to the Senate for deliberation.
If the Senate approves after returning from recess on Nov. 12, the bill may be signed into law by the president.
The passing of the Stop CCP Act follows other legislation targeting top-ranking members of China’s ruling party, many of whom own extensive financial assets in the US despite party propaganda organs frequently denouncing the country.
On Sept. 9, the House also passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act that would “restrict financial services for certain immediate families” of CCP officials if Beijing attacks Taiwan.
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