In a move reflecting enormous goodwill, 17 members of US Congress have introduced a resolution offering uncompromising support for the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to mark the upcoming 30th anniversary of its enactment.
The resolution reaffirms “unwavering commitment” to the TRA and “supports the strong and deepening relationship between the US and Taiwan.”
It was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and insiders said it was “almost certain” to pass well before the April 10 anniversary.
“By introducing this resolution at this historic juncture, members of Congress have voiced their firm commitment and strong support for Taiwan,” a spokesman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington (TECRO) said.
“This is of profound significance to US-ROC [Republic of China] relations,” he said.
The resolution was sponsored by representatives Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus.
The cosponsors included Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, nine Democrats and five other Republicans.
Congressional analysts said the resolution was important in that it would act as a reminder to Congress of its significant commitments to Taiwan, while reaffirming them at the same time.
The resolution also leads the way in inviting the administration of US President Barack Obama to offer similar support.
The TRA was passed in 1979 and affirmed that the US decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China was based on the expectation that the future of Taiwan would be determined by peaceful means.
The new resolution specifically draws attention to how the TRA commits the US to providing “defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.”
It also recalls that the TRA makes it the policy of the US to maintain Taiwan’s capacity to resist force or other forms of coercion that would “jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people of Taiwan.”
DEATH OF FELDMAN
In related news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday lamented the sudden passing of Harvey Feldman, a US career diplomat who was one of the original drafters of the TRA and the key man behind the Six Assurances, two landmark documents that defined Taiwan-US relations after the two countries broke ties in 1979.
Feldman was 78 when he died of an aortic dissection at Washington Hospital Center.
Senior TECRO officials are expected to pay condolences to Feldman’s family at a memorial service today.
Describing Feldman as a “longtime supporter and dear friend to Taiwan,” Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, said his passing was a shock to those who knew him well.
“Just last week he attended a forum in Washington. He has also accepted invitations to speak at forums held by various think tanks on the topic of the 30th anniversary of the ratification of TRA,” he said.
Feldman served as a Distinguished Fellow in China Policy at The Heritage Foundation prior to his death and was a frequent speaker at various forums on Taiwan and cross-strait issues.
In recent years, he traveled to Taiwan to observe various elections, including the presidential and legislative races last year.
Having served in the US Foreign Service for more than three decades and on four continents, Feldman is fondly remembered in Taiwan as the man who helped stabilize relations across the Taiwan Strait and US-Taiwan ties after Washington recognized Beijing in 1979, Tseng said.
Tseng said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) and his deputies would send a letter of condolence to Feldman’s family.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
RSS