A bipartisan coalition of US congressmen on Monday introduced legislation that aims to counter China’s claim to represent Taiwan in international organizations.
“For too long, Beijing has distorted policies and procedures at the UN and related bodies to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, often to the detriment of global health and security efforts,” US Representative Gerry Connolly said in a news release.
“This bipartisan legislation ensures that we stand in solidarity with this critical US partner,” he said.
Photo: Reuters
Connolly cosponsored the bill with the three other chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus — US representatives Albio Sires, Mario Diaz-Balart and Steve Chabot — along with US Representative John Curtis and US Representative Ami Bera, who chairs the foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia.
According to a draft provided by Curtis’ office, the “Taiwan International Solidarity Act” foremost aims to clarify the content of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as “the only legitimate representative of China” in the UN.
The 1971 resolution says nothing about Taiwan’s representation in the UN or related organizations, nor does it declare a stance on the relationship between the PRC and Taiwan, the draft says.
Photo: AFP
The PRC has long used the resolution “as a pretext to bully the international community into supporting its bogus sovereignty claims over Taiwan and its ‘one China’ principle, despite the fact the resolution does not address Taiwan’s status,” Chabot said.
This has led to Taiwan’s exclusion from organizations such as the WHO, Interpol and the International Civil Aviation Organization, he added.
Whenever appropriate, US representatives should use their voice, vote or influence to resist Chinese attempts to “distort the decisions, language, policies or procedures of such organizations regarding Taiwan,” the draft says.
It also declares US opposition to any attempts to change Taiwan’s status without the consent of the Taiwanese people.
The bill would amend the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019, which instructs the US to advocate for Taiwan’s participation in such organizations.
“The TAIPEI Act has greatly strengthened our relationship with Taiwan... However, since the bill’s signing last year, China has mounted pressure on international organizations to claim that Taiwan is part of China,” Curtis said. “This bill adds to the TAIPEI Act in a way that would counter these attempts.”
One addition would instruct the US to encourage its partners to oppose Chinese efforts to undermine Taiwan’s official and unofficial relations with other countries.
This would strengthen a provision in the TAIPEI Act that instructs the US to support Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its global partnerships.
The bill would also instruct the US secretary of state to detail in their annual report past and current efforts by China to weaken Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
This adds to the TAIPEI Act provision instructing the US Department of State to report to Congress annually on its efforts to bolster Taiwan’s global partnerships.
The bill is to be deliberated in the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs before it is presented to the entire House for a vote. If it passes, it would be sent to the US Senate for approval before the president can sign it into law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed the proposal, saying it would pay close attention to its progress.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) thanked the US Congress for its continuous and concrete efforts to support Taiwan.
The government would maintain close communication with its friends on Capitol Hill and in the US administration, and seek more opportunities for collaboration, she told a regular news conference.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS