The US Senate on Wednesday passed a bill promoting closer ties with Taiwan, which Beijing has warned could threaten stability in the Taiwan Strait, but drew praise from Taipei, which pledged to deepen cooperation.
The US Senate unanimously passed the Taiwan Travel Act. In January, the bill passed the US House of Representatives without opposition.
The legislation now only needs US President Donald Trump’s signature to become law.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
It should be US policy to allow US officials at all levels to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts, permit high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the US “under respectful conditions” and meet with US officials, and encourage Taiwanese economic and cultural representatives to conduct business in the US, the bill says.
White House officials did not immediately respond when asked if Trump planned to sign the legislation.
It would be unusual for a president to veto a measure that has passed unanimously.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the US for its unanimous support for the bill, and its increasingly friendly and open attitude toward Taiwan.
“The ministry will continue to develop an even more substantive cooperative relationship with the US, to promote both sides’ joint values and mutually beneficial interests,” it said.
The Presidential Office said the US was its most important international ally, and that it would discuss the matter with the US and further strengthen relations.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took to Twitter to express her gratitude, saying that the bill symbolizes the US Congress’ long-standing support of Taiwan, and that the Taiwan-US partnership is a key pillar of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
However, lawmakers yesterday said that Taiwan should not be “overly optimistic” about Taiwan-US relations following the passing of the bill, with some suggesting that Trump signing the legislation could escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), who serves on the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, said the bill is important in eliminating barriers to visits by high-level officials, but it is not something that would happen overnight.
He compared the development of Taiwan-US relations to stacking blocks, saying it is a process that takes time, so Taiwan would need to be patient and not expect high-level US officials to visit as soon as the bill is signed.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the bill would definitely elevate cooperation between Taiwan and the US, but it really depends on how Washington chooses to execute it.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who is also on the foreign affairs committee, said the Chinese government is certain to respond.
In the long term, China could continue to limit Taiwan’s international participation to keep the US in check, he said.
The US has used arms sales to Taiwan and its support of Taiwan as leverage in its negotiations with China, Chiang said.
The act could serve as another card in the US’ negotiation strategy, depending on how Washington chooses to play it, he said.
Given that Trump’s signing of the bill could escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, whether it helps or hinders the nation remains to be seen, he said.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said that while some of the new bill’s provisions are not legally binding, it “seriously violates” the “one China” principle.
“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes it,” Hua told a regular news briefing.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS