U.S. bill offering funding to friends of Taiwan to be reintroduced

Washington, March 24 (CNA) A United States congressman on Monday said he is planning to reintroduce a bill to support international development projects in countries with official or strong unofficial relations with Taiwan.

Speaking in an online forum hosted by the Atlantic Council, Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will introduce the bill, known as the Taiwan Allies Fund Act, in the very near future with bipartisan co-sponsors in both the House and the Senate.

In his remarks, the Illinois representative noted that China has been engaged in a long-term effort to buy off Taiwan's diplomatic allies, while also using economic coercion to pressure its unofficial friends.

Most recently, the Pacific island nation of Nauru established relations with the PRC after Taiwan's presidential election in January 2024, signaling "Beijing's intent to punish Taiwan's democratic choices," Krishnamoorthi said.

"This cannot continue until those who recognize Taiwan become zero, which is what Beijing wants," he said.

Krishnamoorthi argued that the United States should do everything in its power to advocate for Taiwan's inclusion in international forums and collaborate on projects that reflect the countries' "shared values."

The aim of the Taiwan Allies Fund Act, he said, would authorize "key development aid to countries that have official or strong unofficial relations with Taiwan."

In doing so, the bill would support Taiwan's international participation, while also promoting a global environment where nations can make sovereign decisions free of coercion," Krishnamoorthi said.

Turning to the current situation in the U.S., Krishnamoorthi slammed the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid and dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as "outrageous, dangerous and self-sabotage."

Given that the Chinese Communist Party is increasingly active in "extracting political gains from the developing world," the U.S. also needs to be "stepping up our global position, not kneecapping ourselves," he said.

While Krishnamoorthi did not reveal details of the new legislation, a version of the bill he co-sponsored last year would have authorized US$120 million in funds over three years to be distributed by the State Department and USAID.

That bill was not passed into law during the previous term of Congress, and thus has to be reintroduced in the current term, which convened on Jan. 3.

According to a Reuters report last year, a Taiwan government official claimed Beijing had offered Nauru -- a country with fewer than 12,000 people -- US$100 million per year to cut its ties with Taiwan in favor of China.

Taiwan currently has 12 diplomatic allies, down from 22 a decade ago.