Rebuking China for distorting UN Resolution 2758, the U.S. House of Representatives’ cross-party coalition Friends of Taiwan Caucus introduced The Taiwan Solidarity Act (TSCA) on Monday, April 19, to prevent the Communist Party of China from excluding Taiwan from international institutions.
On April 19, Republican U.S. Rep. John Curtis of Judea announced on Twitter that he and the four chairmen of the U.S. House Friends of Taiwan Caucus: Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Democratic U.S. Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey, Republican U.S. Rep. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (D-MI) and Republican Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Asia Committee Chairman Ami Bera (D-CA) have joined forces to introduce the Taiwan Unity Act, a bill with cross-party support to prevent the Communist Party of China from passing the Taiwan Unity Act. to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from preventing Taiwan from participating in international affairs by distorting Resolution 2758.
Bera, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia Committee, noted that Chinese Communist Party officials claim that UN Resolution 2758 recognizes the Chinese Communist Party as China’s sole representative to the United Nations, but that the resolution makes no mention of Taiwan’s representation in international bodies or of Taiwan’s (the Republic of China) relationship with the People’s Republic of China. However, the Chinese Communist Party has been distorting the UN’s position on this issue by distorting the resolution and thus preventing Taiwan’s participation in UN bodies. He is therefore very pleased to introduce this bill today, along with Representatives Connolly and Kuang Xiheng.
I am very proud to be one of the sponsors of this cross-party legislation today,” said Berra. By passing this bill, we reaffirm that the United States will not support the Communist Party’s false claim that it has the right to represent the people of Taiwan in international bodies. Regardless of what Chinese Communist Party officials may defend, the UN resolution recognizing the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China at the UN is silent on the issue of Taiwan’s representation in world bodies and Taiwan’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China. No one has the right to distort the UN’s position on this issue by twisting the UN resolution, let alone imposing such a distorted view on UN member states, such as banning Taiwan from meaningful participation in UN bodies.”
Xia Bo, one of the chairmen of the House Friends of Taiwan Caucus, also said that for years the Chinese Communist Party has been using UN Resolution 2758 to force the international community to recognize its falsely claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, but the resolution does not mention the status of Taiwan. “And this important bill introduced by Rep. Connolly and Rep. Kuang Xiheng can law counter this overreaching by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Xia Bo said, “The People’s Republic of China has long ignored the fact that UN Resolution 2758 does not mention Taiwan’s status, and has used UN Resolution 2758 as a pretext to threaten the international community with support for its, false, sovereignty claims over Taiwan and its ‘One China’ principle. This move has resulted in Taiwan’s exclusion from international organizations like the WHO, INTERPOL, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), creating an unnecessary void in these important mechanisms. I am very pleased to support this important bill introduced by Congressman Connolly and Congressman Kuang Xiheng today to counter the excesses of the Chinese Communist Party.”
For his part, Congressman Connolly noted that the Chinese Communist Party has been distorting UN policies and procedures at the UN and related agencies for far too long in order to assert its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, and that such behavior often jeopardizes global health and security efforts. He said, “This cross-party bill ensures that we are united with our key partner, the United States (Taiwan).”
Kuang Hee-heng, the bill’s lead sponsor, said that since U.S. President Donald Trump enacted the Taiwan Friends of State Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act (TaiPei Act) in March 2020, both the previous and current Biden administrations have worked to fulfill the rights granted to the U.S. government under the act, significantly strengthening U.S.-Taiwan relations. However, the Chinese Communist Party has also increased its pressure on international organizations during this time to claim that Taiwan is part of the Chinese communist state. So this bill could help the Taiwan Friendship Countries Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act to further curb this practice by the CCP.
Kuang Hee-heng is also the main sponsor of the Taiwan Friends State Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act. He introduced the bill on October 18, 2019, and it was enacted on March 26, 2020.
For his part, Chairman Shires of the Friends of Taiwan Caucus said that in order to undermine Taiwan’s international status, China has used a series of disturbing policies to threaten other countries into line. As Chairman of the Taiwan Friendship Caucus and a long-time supporter of Taiwan, he is pleased to co-sponsor this legislation, as this bill will strengthen Taiwan’s position in the international community.
Congressman Kuang’s official website states that the Chinese Communist Party has used its growing influence in the United Nations and international organizations to prevent Taiwan from participating in international affairs and to distort UN Resolution 2758 by claiming that it considers Taiwan part of the Chinese Communist state. As a result, the WHO cancelled its invitation to Taiwan as an observer at the annual WHO meeting and excluded Taiwan from the international response to the CCP virus outbreak (COVID-19), which undoubtedly exacerbated the outbreak of the new coronavirus. ICAO not only excluded Taiwan from membership last year, but also blocked the social media accounts of those who criticized the organization for such actions.
The Taiwan Solidarity Act amends the Taiwan Friendship Countries Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, enacted in March 2020, to further counter the Chinese Communist Party’s practice of claiming Taiwan as part of international organizations by distorting their rhetoric, policies and procedures.
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