Wagner Bill to Combat China’s Aggression, Support an Independent Taiwan Passes House

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO), Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after her Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act passed the House:

“Taiwan faces an unprecedented threat from an increasingly erratic People’s Republic of China. China is forging a dangerous relationship with Russia and, if we are to defeat the PRC’s plan to replace the United States as the world’s preeminent power, we cannot be ruled by fear. That means boldly standing by our friends and partners, particularly Taiwan.  We must increase our economic ties, defense relationship, and political support of Taiwan’s democratic system, and this bill will support these goals.  Thank you to my colleagues who supported this bipartisan legislation, and I hope the Senate takes immediate action so we can more immediately confront the ongoing threat China poses.”

Background

For decades, most senior U.S. executive branch officials, including high-ranking military officers, were banned from visiting Taiwan to appease China. Similarly, Taiwan’s top leadership could not travel to the United States. Meetings and correspondence between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts had to meet a long list of complicated and arbitrary requirements, such as holding meetings at hotels rather than in official federal buildings or asking Taiwanese officials not to wear any official uniforms or insignia. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared all of these “guidelines” null and void in January 2021, a move Taiwan welcomed as the end of “decades of discrimination.” Many of these restrictions have since been put back in place by the Biden Administration. President Biden’s skittishness is a slap in the face to our partners in Taiwan, who should be allowed to proudly display their country’s flags and symbols in their engagement with the United States.

The Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act would require the Department of State to conduct periodic reviews of its guidelines for U.S. engagement with Taiwan. These regular reviews and updates must:

1. Explain how the guidance deepens and expands United States-Taiwan relations, and reflects the value, merits, and importance of the United States-Taiwan relationship;
2. Give due consideration to the fact that Taiwan is a democratic partner and a free and open society that respects universal human rights and democratic values;
3. Ensure that the conduct of relations with Taiwan reflects the longstanding, comprehensive, and values-based relationship the United States shares with Taiwan, and contribute to the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.
4. Identify opportunities to lift any remaining self-imposed limitations on U.S.-Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so.