A group of US senators on Friday last week introduced a piece of bipartisan legislation to support Taiwan and its diplomatic partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, amid Beijing's continuous poaching of Taipei's allies in the region.
The proposed legislation, jointly initiated by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, Utah Senator John Curtis and Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts, is titled the "United States-Taiwan Partnership in the Americas Act."
Photo: AFP
The proposed act would reaffirm Washington's policy of supporting countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that diplomatically recognize Taiwan, establish a mechanism to monitor and respond to China-backed infrastructure and development projects in these allies, and require regular reporting to Congress on China's pressure tactics and US efforts to support Taiwan's partners.
The bill would also encourage deeper US-Taiwan coordination in the region through joint development efforts, public diplomacy and collaboration between US embassies and Taiwan's representative offices, according to a statement issued by Merkley's office.
"China's campaign to bully countries into abandoning Taiwan is part of its broader effort to reshape the global order through coercion and backroom deals," Merkley was quoted as saying in the news release.
"This bipartisan bill pushes back by supporting governments that choose to maintain ties with Taiwan and makes clear that every nation should be free to choose its partners without fear of retribution from Beijing," he added.
"This bill ensures the United States is not only monitoring China's coercive tactics, but actively responding with transparency, accountability and strategic coordination. It sends a clear message: We stand with our allies, and we will not allow authoritarian pressure to dictate the choices of sovereign nations," Curtis said in the same release.
The proposed legislation needs both Senate and House approval before the US president can sign it into law or veto it.
Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies to the People's Republic of China since former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016.
Five of them — Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras — were Latin American countries.
This has left the country with only 12 diplomatic allies worldwide.
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