US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a US government funding bill for next year that includes provisions to authorize US$2 billion in loans to Taiwan to buy weapons from the US.
Biden, who is on vacation, finalized the US$1.65 trillion Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act covering funding for fiscal 2023.
In a news release, the White House said that the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” makes consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2023, to provide emergency assistance for the situation in Ukraine and for other purposes.
Photo: AFP
The bill, which cleared the US Congress on Dec. 23, provides a record US$858 billion in defense funding — a 10 percent increase over the funding for fiscal 2022 — and US$772 billion in non-defense funding.
In its provisions regarding Taiwan, the act allows up to US$2 billion in direct loans to Taiwan for military purposes under the “Foreign Military Financing Program.”
Taiwan would be required to pay off such loans within 12 years.
However, the bill does not include provisions to provide US$10 billion of grants — US$2 billion over the next five years — for Taiwan to buy US-made weapons, as authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023.
The NDAA was signed into law by Biden on Friday last week, but for its funding provisions to be carried out, they must still be approved in the general appropriations act.
The appropriations bill also authorizes funding from the American Institute of Taiwan’s (AIT) budget to support a fellowship program that offers the opportunity for US federal government employees to live and work in Taiwan for two years.
The act states that after consulting with the AIT director, the US secretary of state is required to present an executive plan for the fellowship program to the Committee on Appropriations.
The funds made available by the act are not allowed to “be used to create, procure or display any map that inaccurately depicts the territory and social and economic system of Taiwan and the islands or island groups administered by Taiwan authorities.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS