The Taiwan Policy Act, aimed at strengthening and clarifying relations between the US and Taiwan, was unanimously passed on Thursday by the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
It will now go to the Foreign Affairs Committee and must be voted on by the full US House of Representatives and Senate before it can become law.
The act would authorize the sale of F-16C/D aircraft, allow high-ranking Taiwanese officials to visit Washington, authorize the transfer of decommissioned missile frigates to Taiwan and support Taiwanese membership of international organizations.
“[The act] will strengthen the relationship between our two nations, and I want to emphasis the word nations,” subcommittee chairman Steve Chabot said.
“Taiwan is a democracy and is a friend and ally and deserves to be treated as such by the US government,” Chabot said.
“Since 2006, Taiwan has been unsuccessful in procuring new F-16C/D jets. I am told the [US President Barack] Obama administration has under consideration an arms sales package that may include the F-16C/Ds.” he said.
“This legislation would authorize those sales and would provide a very important security shield to Taiwan as it faces aggression from China,” he added.
Chabot said the legislation would also address the issue of diplomatic meetings with high-ranking Taiwanese officials who currently are not allowed to visit Washington.
“It is just nonsense that these people cannot come to Washington and this act will address it and allow Taiwanese officials to enter the US with appropriate respect and meet with US officials. This is an excellent bill,” he added.
Republican Representative Ileana Ros Lehtinen said that Taiwan continued to be an “essential” ally of the US.
“This bill tells the Taiwanese people just how deeply we appreciate their friendship,” she said.
California Republican Dana Rohrabacher issued a warning to the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
He said that two years ago, as a result of pressure from Beijing, Taipei was threatening to withdraw its permission for the Falun Gong spiritual movement to broadcast TV programs into China from a Taiwan-based satellite facility.
Rohrabacher said that he had called Ma to say that if the Falun Gong was not allowed to broadcast, he would have to reconsider his support for Taiwan.
Taipei responded by allowing the broadcasts, but issued a license for only two years, and that license would soon have to be renewed, Rohrabacher said.
He said that he hoped the Ma administration would not “be doing the bidding of Beijing” by cutting off the Falun Gong and said he hoped that it would renew the license.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS