The US House of Representatives on Monday advanced a bill that supports Taiwan’s return to the IMF due to its stature in the global economy.
The House unanimously passed the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act, which stipulates that the US secretary of the treasury, who serves as the US governor to the IMF, should “vigorously support the admission of Taiwan as a member” in the institution.
The IMF, which has 191 members, promotes global financial stability and economic growth by providing financial assistance, policy advice and economic surveillance to members.
Photo: AFP
The Republic of China was a founding member of the IMF before its place was taken by the People’s Republic of China in 1980, nine years after Taipei lost its UN seat.
Before the bill was to put to a vote, one of its initiators, US Representative Young Kim, spoke in support of Taiwan.
“Taiwan — the 21st-largest economy in the world and producer of 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductor chip supply — doesn’t just deserve a seat at the table at the IMF. The free world needs Taiwan at the IMF,” Kim said.
“We cannot be complicit as international organizations cede leverage to Beijing and silence Taiwan’s voice,” she said. “I thank my colleagues for joining me to support Taiwan’s participation in the IMF, and I will keep fighting to get this to [US] President [Donald] Trump’s desk.”
US Representative Al Green, another initiator of the bill, said that supporting Taiwan to join the IMF is “a commonsense, bipartisan measure that furthers the long-term interests of both Taiwan and the US.”
“Taiwan’s expertise developing one of the largest and most complex economies in the world would bring a valuable perspective to multilateral economic organizations,” Green said.
The bill still needs the approval of the US Senate before the president can sign it into law or veto it.
A similar piece of legislation passed the House in the previous Congress, but failed to pass the Senate.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) thanked the House for unanimously passing the bill.
The move fully demonstrates the US’ bipartisan and firm support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and greater international space, and further highlights Taiwan’s economic resilience and importance as a global partner, Hsiao said.
“The advancement of the act has positive significance on supporting Taiwan’s greater global participation and in countering China’s pressure on Taiwan,” he said.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
RSS