A bipartisan group of US senators last week introduced a bill to sanction Beijing if it wages war against Taiwan.
The bill would oblige Washington to impose sanctions on China should the US president determine that Beijing or any of its proxies has launched a military invasion of Taiwan, the lawmakers said.
US senators Tammy Duckworth and Dan Sullivan, a Democrat and Republican respectively, jointly sponsored the draft act entitled the “sanctions targeting aggressors of neighboring democracies (STAND) with Taiwan act of 2024.”
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
The bill is to be deliberated by the US Senate Committee on Armed Services.
The bill stipulates a comprehensive package of sanctions that would block Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and Chinese financial and industrial institutions from making transactions with US-based financial institutions, Sullivan’s office said in a statement.
US financial institutions — banks, private equity firms, venture capital groups and hedge funds — would be barred from making any investment that benefits the CCP and its affiliates, while the bill also places restrictions on the importation of goods manufactured in China, it said.
“It is critical that America show steady, unwavering bipartisan commitment and resolve in support of Taiwan’s democracy,” Sullivan was quoted as saying. “Every day, the CCP grows bolder and more aggressive in its threats against Taiwan, the United States and our allies in the Indo-Pacific.”
“I have always believed that if America wants to remain a global leader, we have to show up and support our friends like Taiwan,” the Republican senator’s statement quoted Duckworth as saying.
Taiwan is “a partner that our nation has strong economic and military ties with, who are facing escalating threats from the People’s Republic of China as they work to strengthen their own democracy,” she said.
Sullivan and Duckworth told Taiwanese officials about the bill in May during their visit to Taiwan at the head of a congressional delegation, which additionally included US senators Chris Coons and Laphonza Butler.
Sullivan and fellow Republican US Senator Roger Marshall first introduced a STAND with Taiwan act in 2022.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS