The US House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that seeks to deter Chinese military action by exposing the corruption of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in the event of military action against Taiwan.
This bipartisan Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act was introduced in early February by Republican Lisa McClain and Democrat Brad Sherman, targeting members of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee and other senior officials whose duties involve matters related to Taiwan.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The bill requires that "the Secretary of the Treasury publish a report on financial institutions and accounts connected to senior officials of the People's Republic of China, to restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials, and for other purposes."
The bill authorizes the US treasury secretary to prohibit CCP officials from accessing funds in US financial institutions, and requires that an unclassified summary or portions of the report be made public on the US Department of the Treasury Web site and social media accounts in Chinese and English.
The bill also requires the treasury secretary to prohibit financial institutions from conducting significant transactions with the immediate family members of the aforementioned officials.
"The United States cannot afford to be complacent in the face of growing Chinese aggression," McClain said before the bill's voice vote.
"As a proud representative from the state of Michigan, a state that knows the value of manufacturing, trade and international stability, I know firsthand how vital peace in the Indo-Pacific to American jobs and our economy is," she said.
The Republican lawmaker later described Taiwan as a democratic partner and a key player in the global supply chain, in particular semiconductors.
"This bill sends a clear and bipartisan message: If the CCP rages war against Taiwan, there will be consequences," McClain said.
"We're talking real, targeted consequences for corrupt CCP elites. Their financial dealings and offshore accounts will be exposed and published for the Chinese people to see," she said.
The bill needs to be passed by the US Senate before it can be signed into law by the US president.
The Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act was unanimously passed by the House in the previous session, but it did not make it on to the Senate's agenda.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS