《TAIPEI TIMES》 Ministry thanks US panel for passing bill

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for passing the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative （TAIPEI） bill, which it called “concrete action” to help Taiwan stabilize its diplomatic relations.

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First introduced in September last year, the bill was authored by US senators Cory Gardner — chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy — and Chris Coons, Gardner’s office said in a news release on Wednesday.

“This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to ramp up our support for Taiwan, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan,” Gardner said.

“I will continue to advocate on behalf of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people, as guided by United States law,” he said.

The bill says that the US secretary of state may adjust US assistance to countries taking or anticipating actions to alter or downgrade official or unofficial ties with Taiwan.

It should be the US’ policy to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in all international organizations in which statehood is not a requirement and for Taiwan to be granted observer status in other appropriate international organizations, it says.

The bill must still be approved by the US Senate, as well as the House of Representatives, before it can be signed into law by the president.

Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou （歐江安） yesterday expressed the ministry’s gratitude to the US Congress for taking concrete action to help Taiwan stabilize its diplomatic relations.

China instigated the Pacific nations of the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan in a bid to suppress its international space and force Taiwanese to accept the “one country, two systems” framework, she said.

China’s plotting has been received with abomination by Taiwanese and has caused an increase in support for Taiwan from the global community, Ou said, adding that Taipei would not cave in to Beijing’s pressure.

The ministry would continue observing the bill’s development in Congress, while pragmatically working hand in hand with the US to defend democratic institutions, she said.

Separately yesterday, President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） said that China has long been suppressing Taiwan by poaching diplomatic allies and that all possibilities must be considered in the run-up to presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 next year.

The ministry has been instructed to bolster its efforts to maintain relations with diplomatic allies and boost the confidence of the public, she added.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES