US Senator Rick Scott and US Representative Guy Reschenthaler on Thursday reintroduced in the US Congress the Taiwan invasion prevention act, aiming to boost Taiwan’s ability to resist Chinese aggression.
While the bill was introduced last year by Scott and former US representative Ted Yoho, it was not listed onto the formal agenda in the run-up to the US presidential election in November last year.
“We can’t sit back and let Communist China continue to threaten our democratic ally Taiwan,” Scott, a Republican, wrote on Twitter, urging US President Joe Biden and other Democractic senators to “take a stand for democracy” and join him in passing the bill.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The Biden Administration’s appeasement policy toward Communist China is dangerous,” Scott also said in a news release.
There would be “devastating consequences” for the national security of the US and its allies if Biden fails to stand up to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he added.
The bill “empowers and strengthens Taiwan by calling for a free trade agreement, increasing security cooperation with the US, and authorizing the [US] president to use military force to defend Taiwan against a direct attack,” Reschenthaler, also a Republican, said in separate news release.
It would establish limited authorization for the US president to use military force for the specific purpose of securing and protecting Taiwan against an armed attack, the two lawmakers said.
It would set up a series of security dialogues and combined military exercises between the US, Taiwan and like-minded security partners, they added.
The bill advises Taiwan to dedicate additional domestic resources toward its own defense, including the acquisition of asymmetric defensive weapons, reform of Taiwan’s reserve system, and engagement with the US on cyberdefense activities, they said.
It also encourages the US president or secretary of state to meet with the “President of Taiwan on Taiwan soil” and welcomes the President of Taiwan to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, they said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the move by US lawmakers.
The Biden administration has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitments to the Taiwan Relations Act and “six assurances” to Taiwan, and described bilateral ties as “rock-solid,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
The ministry will continue to watch the bill’s progress, while staying in close contact with the US Congress and administration to deepen bilateral partnerships, she added.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
RSS