A US senator on Thursday said he is preparing legislation to discourage Taiwan’s few remaining allies from switching their allegiance to China after El Salvador became the third country this year to move toward Beijing.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner, chairman of the US Foreign Relations Committee’s Asia subcommittee, told reporters that within a few days he would introduce a measure encouraging countries to stick with Taipei.
Among other things, he said the measure would authorize the US Department of State to take action such as downgrading relations or altering foreign assistance to discourage decisions seen as adverse for Taiwan.
Photo: EPA
“The Taipei Act of 2018 would give greater tools and directions to the State Department in making sure we are as strong a voice as possible for Taiwan,” Gardner told reporters in a telephone interview.
It would require a US strategy to engage with governments around the world to support Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition or unofficial ties, he said.
It would also authorize the department to downgrade US relations, or suspend or alter US foreign assistance, including foreign military financing, to governments that take adversarial actions with regard to Taiwan, he said.
The bill would not mandate action against countries that have chosen diplomatic relations with Beijing, Gardner said.
“This is a permissive bill,” he said. “It’s something that gives one more tool in the bundle of tools to address Chinese bullying.”
On Tuesday, the department said that the US was “deeply disappointed” by El Salvador’s decision and was reviewing its relationship with San Salvador, without elaborating further.
Several members of the US Congress, who see Beijing as a threat to US security and international influence, have said US President Donald Trump should adopt a strategy for Taiwan.
The proposed legislative effort to boost Taiwan comes as Washington and Beijing have escalated a trade war.
The world’s two biggest economies on Thursday implemented punitive 25 percent tariffs on US$16 billion worth of each other’s goods.
Taiwan has formal relations with only 17 countries, many of them small, less-developed nations, such as Belize and Nauru.
Gardner last week met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss what Congress could do to support Taiwan.
The senator said he had spoken to Democratic senators, hoping to build bipartisan backing necessary for his bill to pass the chamber.
He said he also planned to work with members of the US House of Representatives and the White House.
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