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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 President should nominate director of AIT: US report
The US national flag flies over the compound of the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei’s Neihu District yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
/ Staff writer, with CNA
A US Congress commission to monitor US-China security and trade issues has recommended that the director of the American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） be nominated by the US president and confirmed by the US Senate, in effect treating the post as an ambassadorial nomination.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its annual report examined five key aspects of the US-China relationship, including global competition, economic and trade relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In the section on Taiwan, the commission wrote that this year was “pivotal” for cross-strait relations, citing China’s imposition of a National Security Law in Hong Kong and its intensifying military operations around Taiwan.
In economic terms, the report highlighted Taiwan’s efforts to move global supply chains away from China, as well as its decision to lift restrictions on US meat imports, which it said showed Taiwan’s commitment to reducing its economic reliance on China and forging better ties with the US.
“A growing chorus of voices in Washington policy circles are questioning whether China’s mounting aggression toward Taipei and the deepening cross-strait military imbalance necessitate a new US approach to cross-strait relations,” the report said.
Policymakers face “an increasingly urgent and difficult set of choices about responses to China’s coercion of Taiwan,” it said, adding that the steps the US government takes in the next few years would have “far-reaching consequences” for Taiwan, the region and the US.
The report contained a list of 19 policy recommendations, of which four pertained to Taiwan.
Among them, the commission called on US Congress to enact legislation to make the director of the AIT a presidential nomination subject to the advice and consent of the US Senate.
It recommended amending the US’ Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative to stipulate that the US would use its membership in international organizations to oppose any attempt by China to resolve Taiwan’s status “by distorting the language, policies or procedures of the organization.”
It said the US Congress should strengthen economic ties with Taiwan in industries where there are “unique reciprocal opportunities,” such as the technology sector.
It said the US Congress should also encourage the US president to include Taiwan in multilateral efforts to coordinate and strengthen supply chain cooperation and security, either by expanding the Global Cooperation and Training Framework or through a new arrangement consisting of “like-minded democracies.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
