The US Congress is concerned that China's proposed "anti-secession" law could change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait or increase the possibility of a Chinese attack, and would respond if the law increased either danger, senior congressional staffers on the House International Relations Committee warned on Friday.
But until Beijing publishes the text of the proposed legislation, which it has so far kept a secret, there is little that Congress can do, the staffers told a seminar hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
In any event, the staffers said, the earliest that Congress could respond to any dangers posed by the law would be next month, since China's National People's Congress is not expected to approve and publish the law before March 15.
Congress goes out on a two-week spring break a few days after that date.
"We are very concerned about China's not doing anything to change the status quo across the Strait, and if the law in any way changes the status quo or increases the threat of the use of force, Congress is likely to speak out in opposition to it," said Peter Yeo, deputy Democratic staff director of the House committee.
Conceding that "there are limits to what we can do," Yeo said that Congress would likely express concern over the law.
Dennis Halpin, the committee staffer responsible for China affairs for the majority Republicans, agreed. He cited US President George W. Bush's comments on Dec. 9, 2003, in which Bush publicly berated President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for planning an election-day referendum on cross-strait matters. Bush at the time opposed any changes in the status quo by either side, including Beijing, Halpin said.
Congress is prepared to press the administration on that statement, Halpin said.
"If people see that the language that comes out of the anti-secession law is a clear direction to the change in the status quo, people would remind the administration of its public statement opposing changes in the status quo," he said.
The US has already voiced its opposition to a draconian "anti-secession" law, and Beijing may have reacted to that, the congressional staffers indicated.
"I think it should be clear through private and other channels that the people in Beijing are well aware of Congress' bottom-line concerns on this," Halpin said. "So if they decide to cross the Rubicon, there will be a reaction," he said.
Halpin also predicted that there would be a "vigorous congressional response" if the EU ends its arms embargo on China.
"It is a very high priority for the committee," he said. People in "very high levels of our committee are very concerned about the EU action."
He would not give details, and refused to comment on reports that Congress may impose sanctions against the EU in response.
Speaking on US arms sales to Taiwan, Yeo described as "shocking" the Legislative Yuan's failure to pass the special defense budget authorizing the purchase of diesel submarines, PAC-3 anti-missile batteries and PC-3 anti-submarine aircraft.
"It is undoubtedly going to have an impact on US-Taiwan relations," he said.
"Taiwan needs to recognize that it has to approve the additional defense spending, because the US is not going to be solely responsible for Taiwan's defense," he said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS