A bill being proposed in the US House of Representatives would require American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) directors to receive confirmation in the US Senate, and be given the rank and status of an ambassador-at-large.
The “Taiwan Envoy Act,” which is being sponsored by US representatives Steve Chabot and Brad Sherman, cites the ambassador-level importance of the position by saying that “an extended period without a director … would be detrimental to United States interests.”
While US ambassadors are confirmed by a majority vote in the US Senate, the AIT director is appointed, without congressional approval, by the US Secretary of State, because of the institute’s unofficial status.
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a US-based group that advocates for Taiwanese independence, on Monday issued a statement praising the legislation.
“[The US] Congress has the right to oversee US-Taiwan relations through such a confirmation process,” the association said.
However, with the House in its Christmas holiday recess until Jan. 7, the legislation must wait before it can be assigned to a committee.
A bill proposing a similar provision was introduced in 2007 by then-US representative Tom Tancredo, but it failed to make it through the committee process.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Chabot and Sherman for their support of Taiwan and said that it looked forward to following the progress of the legislation.
“We will closely monitor the deliberation and the subsequent development of the proposed act,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday.
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