US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi yesterday introduced a bipartisan bill that would make the “six assurances” — a long-standing US foreign policy governing relations with Taiwan — official US law.
The “six assurances” were issued in 1982 by then-US president Ronald Reagan and have been reaffirmed by US presidents and Taiwan-related legislation since, a news release by the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) said.
Then-head of the American Institute in Taiwan, James Lilley, presented then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) with Reagan’s assurances in a private letter rather than an official government document.
Photo: Reuters
Unlike the Taiwan Relations Act, the “six assurances” have never become an official law dictating US-Taiwan relations and the exact text Lilley delivered has never been found.
The “six assurances” are the following: The US agreed to not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, it would not consult with China on arms sales to Taiwan, it would not mediate between either side, would not revise the Taiwan Relations Act, would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty and would not pressure Taiwan to negotiate these matters with China.
“Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and a critical partner to the United States, and it deserves clarity and certainty when it comes to our commitments,” Krishnamoorthi said in the news release.
“By codifying the six assurances, this bill sends a clear, bipartisan message: We will stand firm against coercion, support peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and ensure that US policy remains consistent, principled and rooted in law,” Krishnamoorthi added.
The bill is cosponsored by US representatives Gregory Meeks, Zach Nunn, Greg Stanton, Young Kim and Nicole Malliotakis.
To become law, the bill would have to pass the House of Representatives and Senate before being signed by the president.
In August last year, the US Democratic Party for the first time included the “six assurances” in its party platform, committing to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
This bill comes the same day as the committee held a hearing titled “Deterrence Amid Rising Tensions: Preventing CCP Aggression on Taiwan,” which saw two former military officials and a former deputy secretary of state testify regarding rising regional tensions and concerns about US role in a potential conflict.
“A CCP attack on Taiwan would be unacceptable for our prosperity, our security and our values,” Krishnamoorthi said at the hearing.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan has activated backup communications for its northernmost territory, the remote and strategically located island of Dongyin (東引), after poor weather conditions apparently shifted the wreckage of a ship onto an undersea cable causing it to break. The vulnerability of undersea communication cables linking Taiwan with its outlying islands has been a persistent cause of concern for Taipei, whose government has on several occasions blamed Chinese ships for intentionally causing damage. Dongyin, home to about 1,500 people, sits in a strategic position at the top of the Taiwan Strait and the island has a heavy military presence. It does not have an
RSS