Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Tuesday thanked legislators in the US House of Representatives for passing the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act. The bill would empower the US government to publish the “illicit” financial assets of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
US Representative French Hill, who introduced the bill last year, said the legislation would put public pressure on the CCP, and could act as a deterrent to Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.
Beijing “has failed to deliver a social safety net and families are battered by sinking real-estate debt,” Hill said. “Let these corrupt officials explain to ordinary Chinese citizens how they acquired their riches on a government salary.”
Hill’s support for Taiwan is very welcomed, but his estimate of the bill’s impact is overly optimistic. To start, where would the US Department of the Treasury publish the information? Access to international media in China is limited under the CCP’s censorship.
The social media and content platforms most widely used in the US, including Facebook, X, Instagram, Twitch and YouTube, are all blocked in China. Content posted to Chinese social media such as Sina Weibo, WeChat and Douyin is also monitored by the CCP, and even code language — using intentionally misspelled words and homophones — that users employ to get around restrictions is quickly picked up by censors and removed. Those who persist in posting banned subject matter find their accounts blocked, and in the most egregious cases are imprisoned.
However, that is a moot point, as Chinese citizens are largely aware of corruption in their government already, but are powerless to act on that information.
Even outside of China, CCP members do not even attempt to hide illegal or questionable behavior, as three examples from 2022 demonstrate. Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野) said during an interview with French media on Aug. 3 that year that in the event of China’s annexation of Taiwan, Taiwanese would need to be “re-educated” to make them patriotic and accepting of unification.
This was followed by Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (肖千) smiling on TV while discussing the arrest of Australian activist Drew Pavlou in the UK over false charges, from which he was later absolved. Then in October 2022, a Hong Kong dissident was dragged onto the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, and beaten.
These sorts of actions are evidence that CCP officials care little what anyone knows or thinks about them. Financial restrictions could have more impact as a deterrent, but they need to be comprehensive and must target the CCP as a whole, which is outside the scope of the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act.
“This bill does not focus on retaliating against the Chinese government per se, but rather on individuals who are in that government,” Hill said.
It must be understood that in China there are no officials with individual interests, nor companies that can operate free from the CCP’s influence. In China, the party is everything.
To be effective, any legislation must threaten sanctions against China as a whole. Such legislation must entirely prohibit financial transactions, either direct or indirect, between tax-paying individuals or companies registered in the US and any entity in China.
Lessons from Russia show that to be effective, sanctions need to target trade funneled through third countries. US companies should also diversify their export partners and supply chains.
It is promising to see continued support for Taiwan’s defense from cross-party US officials, but legislation must promise truly impactful consequences to really serve as a deterrent to Chinese aggression.
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
Most Hong Kongers ignored the elections for its Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2021 and did so once again on Sunday. Unlike in 2021, moderate democrats who pledged their allegiance to Beijing were absent from the ballots this year. The electoral system overhaul is apparent revenge by Beijing for the democracy movement. On Sunday, the Hong Kong “patriots-only” election of the LegCo had a record-low turnout in the five geographical constituencies, with only 1.3 million people casting their ballots on the only seats that most Hong Kongers are eligible to vote for. Blank and invalid votes were up 50 percent from the previous
More than a week after Hondurans voted, the country still does not know who will be its next president. The Honduran National Electoral Council has not declared a winner, and the transmission of results has experienced repeated malfunctions that interrupted updates for almost 24 hours at times. The delay has become the second-longest post-electoral silence since the election of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party in 2017, which was tainted by accusations of fraud. Once again, this has raised concerns among observers, civil society groups and the international community. The preliminary results remain close, but both
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
RSS