The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for passing the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) bill, which it called “concrete action” to help Taiwan stabilize its diplomatic relations.
First introduced in September last year, the bill was authored by US senators Cory Gardner — chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy — and Chris Coons, Gardner’s office said in a news release on Wednesday.
“This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to ramp up our support for Taiwan, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan,” Gardner said.
Photo: AFP
“I will continue to advocate on behalf of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people, as guided by United States law,” he said.
The bill says that the US secretary of state may adjust US assistance to countries taking or anticipating actions to alter or downgrade official or unofficial ties with Taiwan.
It should be the US’ policy to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in all international organizations in which statehood is not a requirement and for Taiwan to be granted observer status in other appropriate international organizations, it says.
The bill must still be approved by the US Senate, as well as the House of Representatives, before it can be signed into law by the president.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday expressed the ministry’s gratitude to the US Congress for taking concrete action to help Taiwan stabilize its diplomatic relations.
China instigated the Pacific nations of the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan in a bid to suppress its international space and force Taiwanese to accept the “one country, two systems” framework, she said.
China’s plotting has been received with abomination by Taiwanese and has caused an increase in support for Taiwan from the global community, Ou said, adding that Taipei would not cave in to Beijing’s pressure.
The ministry would continue observing the bill’s development in Congress, while pragmatically working hand in hand with the US to defend democratic institutions, she said.
Separately yesterday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that China has long been suppressing Taiwan by poaching diplomatic allies and that all possibilities must be considered in the run-up to presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 next year.
The ministry has been instructed to bolster its efforts to maintain relations with diplomatic allies and boost the confidence of the public, she added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS