The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Republican National Committee (RNC), the decisionmaking body of the US Republican Party, for adopting a resolution in support of Taiwan earlier this month.
In a statement, the ministry expressed gratitude to the committee for passing the resolution and for its support of Taiwan’s freedom, open society and democratic institutions.
The “Resolution Recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA): An Enduring Partnership,” was adopted during the RNC’s annual summer meeting from July 31 to Aug. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ministry said.
The resolution affirms that under the act, it is the policy of the US to “provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” to maintain the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion.
The act, which provides the legal basis for unofficial relations between the US and Taiwan, was signed into law on April 10, 1979, by then-US president Jimmy Carter, several months after the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The resolution also highlights advancements in US-Taiwan relations, in particular the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act last year, which allows high-level US officials to visit Taiwan and vice versa, the ministry said.
The resolution also cited the passage of the Taiwan Assurance Act this year by the US House of Representatives and the announcement of US$2.25 billion of arms sales to Taiwan as examples of the growing bilateral relationship, it said.
“The RNC reaffirms its support for Taiwan’s freedom, open society and democratic institutions, and its unwavering commitment to the TRA as the cornerstone of relations between the US and Taiwan,” the resolution says.
The resolution shows the Republican Party’s solid support for deepening the relationship between Taiwan and the US, the ministry said.
The friendship between the Republican Party and Taiwan goes back a long way, the ministry said, adding that in 2016, the party included the TRA and the “six assurances” to Taiwan by former US president Ronald Reagan in its platform.
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