The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the “Sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Tyranny and Oppression Act” by a vote of 243 to 174.
The legislation — referred to as the Stop CCP Act — enables the “imposition of sanctions on members of the National Communist Party Congress of the People’s Republic of China.”
The act says that the CCP, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), is responsible for “violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy,” “increased aggression against the people of Taiwan” and “acts of repression and genocide against Uighur Muslims.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The text of the proposed law states that if the US president decides that “sanctionable conduct” has taken place, then members of the CCP’s central committee — the party’s main leadership organization composed of about 200 permanent and 160 alternating members — shall be prohibited from buying or selling property in the US.
Furthermore, those leading communist cadres would be ineligible to receive an entry visa to the US or would have existing visas revoked.
The sanctions outlined in the act may also be applied to any “adult family members” of the top-ranking party member and their spouse.
In the text of the act, “sanctionable conduct” is defined as actions that play a “significant role in the development or implementation” of policies that “violate the autonomy of Hong Kong,” “harass, intimidate or result in increased aggression towards the people of Taiwan” or “contribute to political oppression or violation of human rights of individuals or societal groups within the People’s Republic of China, including Uighur Muslims.”
Crucially, the US president must “determine” whether such “sanctionable conduct” has occurred for the measures to go into effect.
Taiwan is mentioned repeatedly in the act sponsored by Republican Representative Lisa McClain of Michigan.
“Since the election of [former] president Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文] as president of Taiwan in 2016, the Government of the People’s Republic of China has intensified its efforts to pressure Taiwan through diplomatic isolation and military provocations,” the act says.
“The rapid modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and recent military maneuvers in and around the Taiwan Strait illustrate a clear threat to Taiwan’s security,” it adds.
The act also reiterates key aspects of the Taiwan Relations Act, highlighting that the US is required by its own law to “maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
Now that the bill has passed the House, it is set to go to the Senate for deliberation.
If the Senate approves after returning from recess on Nov. 12, the bill may be signed into law by the president.
The passing of the Stop CCP Act follows other legislation targeting top-ranking members of China’s ruling party, many of whom own extensive financial assets in the US despite party propaganda organs frequently denouncing the country.
On Sept. 9, the House also passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act that would “restrict financial services for certain immediate families” of CCP officials if Beijing attacks Taiwan.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS