The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan.
The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote.
According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative.
Photo: AFP
The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed an amendment to remove the US$500 million in Taiwan-related funding from the bill.
Speaking on the House floor, she said that the amount marked a US$100 million increase from the previous year.
Greene said that “increasing foreign aid to Taiwan will only increase their reliance on the United States,” adding that the US, with its US$37 trillion in national debt, could not afford to continue foreign assistance to other countries.
She also warned against potentially “instigating World War III with China,” saying the US should focus on its own border before addressing those of other countries, including Taiwan and Ukraine.
Her amendment was rejected in a 421-6 vote following bipartisan opposition.
Speaking against Greene’s amendment, Republican Representative Ken Calvert said US President Donald Trump’s administration had issued a policy statement the day before calling for more aid for Taiwan, recommending US$1 billion.
He said that the proposal could have been considered if the White House Office of Management and Budget had submitted relevant materials on time.
Calvert said that supporting Taiwan aligns with the core interests of the US.
“The funding will go a long way to make sure that Taiwan has the resources necessary to help prevent a Chinese invasion,” he said.
“That’s the position of the Trump administration and that’s the position of this bill,” he added.
Democratic Representative Betty McCollum said that “Taiwan is threatened by the People’s Republic of China” and warned that other nations, including the Philippines, would also be at risk “if Taiwan falls.”
“This bill will assist Taiwan in preparing their military, increasing their readiness and their deterrence capabilities,” she added.
The committee directed the defense secretary to submit a funding plan to the House and Senate appropriations committees within 60 days of the law taking effect.
Under US law, the bill must pass the US Senate in the same form before it can be sent to the president for signing.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS