Wagner’s Bill to Support an Independent Taiwan Passes Foreign Affairs Committee

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 Foreign Affairs Committee.

“I am pleased the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed my legislation to strengthen the U.S.-Taiwan relationship as Taiwan faces down an existential threat from the People’s Republic of China. At a time when China is actively working to expand its authoritarian influence, we must stand with our allies and be clear we will not tolerate CCP aggression against the democratic people of Taiwan.  I hope the full House votes on my legislation as soon as possible.” 

Vice Chair Wagner spoke on this bill during today’s Committee markup, click here to watch.

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.