U.S. House passes bills on Taiwan engagement, int'l participation

Washington, May 5 (CNA) The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed two Taiwan-related bills aimed at easing limits on bilateral engagement and supporting Taiwan's participation in international organizations.

The first of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, would require the State Department to conduct periodic reviews of its guidelines for U.S. engagement with Taiwan and Taiwanese officials.

It would also require the State Department to report to Congress every two years on the guidelines, and "identify opportunities to lift any remaining self-imposed limitations on U.S.-Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so."

The legislation, which was introduced in February by Republican Ann Wagner and Democrats Gerry Connolly and Ted Lieu, was passed by a voice vote. It would need to be approved by the Senate and signed by the president to become law.

After severing ties with Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (ROC), in 1979, Washington developed guidelines to limit official interactions with Taiwan to avoid angering the People's Republic of China (PRC), which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

These guidelines have included banning senior American executive branch officials, including high-ranking military officers, from visiting Taiwan, while also blocking Taiwan's top leaders from traveling to the U.S.

Also, meetings between officials from the two sides have had to meet a list of requirements, such as being held at venues other than in official federal buildings or asking Taiwanese officials not to wear any official uniforms or insignia.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo removed the guidelines in the final month of Donald Trump's first term as president, but many were later put back in place during the Joe Biden administration.

Taiwan International Solidarity Act

The second piece of legislation consists of amendments to the TAIPEI Act of 2019, which instructs the U.S. government to support Taiwan's membership in international organizations and encourage other countries to strengthen their official or unofficial ties to Taiwan.

The new bill, called the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, would add language to "clarify" that U.N. Resolution 2758 did not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in the United Nations or related organizations.

Approved in 1971, U.N. Resolution 2758 recognized the PRC as the only legitimate government of China, and expelled "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石)." Chiang was the then-leader of the ROC, which governs Taiwan.

The bill would also expand reporting requirements in the TAIPEI Act to include information on China's efforts to undermine Taiwan's international participation and its ties or relationships with other countries.

Versions of both the bills approved Monday were previously passed by the House in 2023 but were not taken up by the Senate, and thus had to be reintroduced after the new Congress was seated on Jan. 3.