Republican Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Taiwan Relations Enhancement Act of 2020 on Tuesday (October 20) to update U.S. policy toward Taiwan, reflect existing realities, and address China’s threats to Taiwan and to U.S. national security.
In a statement, Senator Mroco Rubio (R-FL) of Florida and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) of Oregon said the cross-party bill would strengthen U.S. relations with Taiwan, including establishing an interdepartmental Taiwan policy task force. In addition, the Administration was asked to provide a progress report on the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act, to promote Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, to require the Administration to adopt strategies to protect U.S. businesses and nongovernmental entities from coercion by the Chinese government, and to respond to China’s actions against Taiwan. “Sharpening Power Campaign.
“Continuing to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Taiwan – a fellow democracy and an important security partner in the Indo-Pacific region – must continue to be a U.S. foreign policy priority,” said Rubio, who proudly introduced the cross-party legislation, a bill that “would update U.S. policy to better reflect regional realities, and to address the many challenges and threats to Taiwan and U.S. national security posed by Communist China.”
“Taiwan’s democracy is vital to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and our relationship with Taiwan is important to the United States,” said Senator Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From expanding exchange programs to encouraging Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations to protecting U.S. businesses from Chinese coercion, the Taiwan Relations Enhancement Act will take important steps to foster a strong relationship with Taiwan.”
The 16-page TAR Act declares that the TAR and the “Six Assurances” are the cornerstone of U.S. bilateral relations with Taiwan, formerly known as the “Republic of China,” that the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan have been governed by separate governments without interruption since 1949, that “at no point since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 has Taiwan been governed by the People’s Republic of China,” and that the so-called “one-China policy” of the United States is distinct from the “one-China principle” supported by the People’s Republic of China.
The bill states that threats and actions by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to unilaterally determine the future of Taiwan by non-peaceful means, including direct use of force, military coercion, economic boycott and embargo, and the international isolation or annexation of Taiwan, will destabilize the Taiwan Strait and are of grave concern to the U.S. Government. The bill states that the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence activities and sharp power actions seek to diplomatically undermine the legitimacy of the democratically elected government of Taiwan, intimidate the people of Taiwan, and force Taiwan’s diplomatic partners to abandon it.
In addition, the bill mentions that the military modernization program and expansion of the Communist-controlled People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pose a serious challenge to the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, as well as to the national security interests of the United States as a Pacific nation. The bill also states that cultural and educational exchanges between the United States and Taiwan are an important element in establishing and strengthening bilateral people-to-people exchanges, and that Taiwan is an important U.S. trading partner, with Taiwan being the 10th largest U.S. trade market in 2019.
For these reasons, the bill reads, the U.S. Congress believes that the United States should strengthen military cooperation with Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances”; urges Taiwan to increase its investment in military capabilities to support its asymmetric defense capabilities; supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, as well as bilateral and multilateral security summits, military exercises, and economic dialogues and forums; and prioritizes free trade agreement negotiations to deepen bilateral economic ties.
The bill’s proposed “21st Century Partnership” with Taiwan requires the United States to affirm that its policy toward Taiwan fully reflects Taiwan’s democratization and adherence to U.S. principles and values.
Provisions of the bill include: Within 90 days of the bill’s effective date, the President must establish an interdepartmental “Taiwan Policy Working Group” consisting of the NSC, the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Commerce, and the Office of the Trade Representative to provide annual public and confidential reports to Congress; the position of Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei must be recommended and approved by Congress, and the title of the position will be “Representative” after the bill takes effect.
Other provisions include education and exchange programs between the U.S. and Taiwan, meaningful participation by Taiwan in international organizations, invitations to high-level bilateral and multilateral forums, summits, and military exercises, and within 180 days of the effective date of the bill, the Secretary of State must submit to Congress an annual list of visits by senior U.S. and Taiwanese government officials pursuant to the Taiwan Travel Act, and the Secretary of Defense must submit an annual report on U.S.-Taiwan deterrence capabilities in the Taiwan Strait within 180 days of the bill’s passage.
In addition, the bill contains several “prohibitions”. In the section on “Prohibitions on Undermining U.S. Policy Toward Taiwan,” the bill states that Congress believes that forcing the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China to compel U.S. private businesses, corporations, and nongovernmental entities to describe Taiwan’s relationship with China in terms that China demands is an intolerable act of global forced political censorship and should be viewed as an unacceptable attempt to undermine U.S. policy toward Taiwan. The U.S. government should develop a code of conduct with these corporate, corporate, and nongovernmental entities in their interactions with the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and related entities, in order to prevent attacks on all democracies and free societies.
In the section on “Prohibiting recognition of the sovereignty claims of the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan,” the bill states that Congress believes that issues involving Taiwan’s sovereignty should be resolved peacefully with the consent of the people of Taiwan and that it is the policy of the United States to oppose “any unilateral setting of a timetable for the reunification of Taiwan” by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China. attempts to do so.”
Regarding the “Prohibition on Recognizing Claims of the People’s Republic of China without the Consent of the People of Taiwan,” the bill provides that no U.S. governmental department or agency may formally or informally recognize the claims of the People’s Republic of China to Taiwan without the consent of the people of Taiwan, such as through direct expression in a democratic process.
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