Apart from the first arms sales approval for Taiwan since US President Donald Trump took office, last month also witnessed another milestone for Taiwan-US relations. Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law on Tuesday. Its passing without objection in the US Senate underscores how bipartisan US support for Taiwan has evolved.
The new law would further help normalize exchanges between Taiwanese and US government officials. We have already seen a flurry of visits to Washington earlier this summer, not only with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), but also delegations led by National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君).
The successful passage is in large part from decades-long advocacy work by generations of Taiwanese diaspora spread across the US. The largest organization that focuses on advancing Taiwan-friendly legislation and promoting Taiwan-US ties is the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA). Many senior government officials and legislators have received training or support from FAPA when it comes to relations with the US, including Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who started her early political career as an intern at the FAPA headquarters in Washington.
This also extends to US politicians. Although advocacy work can often be seen as repetitive and cultivating political goodwill requires time, it has paid off in bringing about “ironclad” support for Taiwan.
We have seen this with retiring former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi — a relationship that precedes even the founding of FAPA when Pelosi was still an aide attending a 1972 rally in support of Taiwan’s self-determination with then-US representative Donald Fraser. While Fraser made a speech to call out the hypocrisy of “Free China” and the atrocities committed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dictatorship on Taiwan not long after it lost its seat at the UN, Pelosi met with many of the founders of what a decade later would become FAPA. Pelosi attended FAPA’s first annual convention in 1983 as leader of the California Democratic Party. Through such interactions, she continues to be a consistently staunch supporter of Taiwan, playing a critical role in passing Taiwan-friendly legislation, not to mention her historic visit to the nation in 2022.
Another example is the decades-long relationship with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. As senator, Rubio closely worked with FAPA and other Taiwan advocates to advance pro-Taiwan legislation, and has pushed for increased arms sales and other forms of support in countering Chinese aggression, modernizing Taiwan’s defense capabilities, economic resilience and boosting its international space. He has become a critical voice in the administration, one that could help diffuse actions detrimental to Taiwan’s security, and serving as a counterbalance when it comes to negotiating with China.
FAPA president Kao Su-mei (林素梅) said that this represents a structural breakthrough for the long-overdue and further normalization of ties between the two countries. It would finally shift outdated, self-imposed US “red lines” on engagement with Taiwan.
In practice, by requiring regular reviews and updates of the US Department of State’s Taiwan guidelines, this legislation transforms US policy from passive self-restriction to active, institutionalized support, Kao said.
FAPA executive director Anny Hsiao (蕭喬勻) said that this would ensure that engagement is defined by US law and values, not by Beijing’s objections or pressure.
Anny Hsiao also said she has seen a constant surge in advocacy participation throughout the US, which would help ensure that support for Taiwan remains strong.
She also expects that this bipartisan mandate opens the door for Taiwan’s elected leaders and high officials to engage more openly and directly with the US regardless of which party is in power, especially as China ramps up on harassing Taiwan’s neighbors, Japan and the Philippines. Both are critical partners in helping to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and peace in the region.
Rath Wang is a senior policy fellow at Safe Spaces, a consulting firm based in Taipei and Washington focusing on Taiwan’s politics, media, civil society and key issues influencing Taiwan’s future. He is a producer and host of political talk shows and podcasts, and has worked on political campaigns and advocacies in Taiwan, Japan and the US. He can be reached at rathwang@safespacesllc.com
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