Six US senators, including Republican Marco Rubio of Florida, on Thursday jointly introduced the Taiwan Travel Act, legislation that encourages visits between Taiwan and the US at all levels.
The other senators who joined Rubio in presenting the bill were Republicans Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Cory Gardner of Colorado and Democrats Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Gary Peters of Michigan.
The draft bill states that the US Congress believes the US government should encourage visits between officials from Taiwan and the US at all levels, instead of placing restrictions on such visits.
Photo: Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein
Washington should allow US officials at all levels, including Cabinet-level national security officials, general officers and other executive branch officials, to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts, the bill reads.
The bill also says that high-level Taiwanese officials should be allowed to enter the US — under conditions which demonstrate appropriate respect for the dignity of such officials — and to meet with US officials, including officials from the US Department of State and the US Department of Defense and other Cabinet-level agencies.
In his statement introducing the legislation, Rubio underscored that “the legislation is important, especially as China attempts to block Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.”
“America should keep strengthening our relationship with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy, including by encouraging high-level visits between Taiwanese and American officials in our respective capitals,” said Rubio, a long-term supporter of Taiwan.
A member of the US Senate Taiwan Caucus, Rubio met President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Miami on June 24 last year while Tsai was on her first overseas trip after assuming office on May 20.
Rubio proposed the bill in the Senate in September last year, but it failed to pass before the 114th Congress ended on Jan. 3.
Similar legislation was initiated by US Representative Steve Chabot, cosponsored by representatives Ed Royce and Brad Sherman, in the US House of Representatives on Jan. 13 and has been referred to the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) president Peter Chen (陳正義) said the Senate bill is an important signal that suggests the communication channels between Taiwan and the US are out of date and insufficient to maintain regional peace and stability.
The US should demonstrate more its support for democratic nations if it wishes to strengthen and maintain democratic development in the Asia-Pacific region, Chen said.
FAPA is a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting Taiwan-US relations and security in East Asia.
China opposes any behavior that could suggest Taiwan is a sovereign nation, including visits by senior officials to countries with which Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations.
Beijing has stopped official dialogue with Taiwan since Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, became president.
Following Tsai’s refusal to heed Beijing’s calls to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus” as the sole foundation for cross-strait exchanges, China has stepped up efforts to prevent Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS