Members of the US House of Representatives yesterday reintroduced a bill that asks the US Department of State to review established guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan.
Republican Ann Wagner and Democrats Gerry Connolly and Ted Lieu reintroduced the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which passed the House in 2023, but did not make it through the Senate.
Photo: EPA-EFE
According to a joint statement issued by the three lawmakers, the new version of the act would again require the State Department to conduct periodic reviews of its guidelines for US engagement with Taiwan and Taiwanese officials.
The reviews must include explanations of how the guidance deepens and expands US-Taiwan relations and consider that "Taiwan is a democratic partner and a free and open society that respects universal human rights and democratic values," the statement said.
They should also "identify opportunities to lift any remaining self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so," the statement said.
After severing ties with Taiwan in 1979, Washington developed guidelines to limit official interactions with Taiwan to avoid angering the People's Republic of China.
These guidelines have included banning senior US executive branch officials, including high-ranking military officers, from visiting Taiwan, while also blocking Taiwan's top leaders from traveling to the US.
Also, meetings between officials from the two sides have had to meet a list of requirements, such as being held at venues other than in official federal buildings or asking Taiwanese officials not to wear any official uniforms or insignia.
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo removed the guidelines in the final month of US President Donald Trump's first term in office.
However, many of the restrictions were later put back in place by the administration of former US president Joe Biden.
In the statement issued yesterday, Wagner was quoted as saying that "the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act will deepen the relationship between our countries and will signal to the world that the United States will never kowtow to Communist China."
"Now more than ever, it is imperative for the United States to demonstrate its unwavering support for our friend and ally, Taiwan," Connolly said.
"This [bill] will allow for a more unified approach in coordinating US-Taiwan relations and strengthen our essential partnership," Lieu was quoted as saying in the statement.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS