Washington, Oct. 24 (CNA) Two United States senators have reintroduced the Taiwan Relations Reinforcement Act, which they said is aimed at updating and bolstering U.S. policy to support Taiwan amid China’s military and diplomatic aggression.
Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Jeff Merkley introduced the act for the third time on Tuesday, after previous attempts in 2020 and 2021 to get the legislation through Congress stalled, with the bill never getting further than the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“This bipartisan bill is more important than ever as it reinforces our nation’s commitment to our democratic ally, Taiwan, and strengthens our bilateral ties,” Rubio said in a joint press release with Merkley.
“Taiwan’s democracy is critical to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States’ support for Taiwan’s democracy plays a crucial role in defending that peace,” said Merkley.
If the act were passed, it would change the status of the head of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official ties.
Under the act, the position of AIT director would be changed to “representative,” and the representative’s appointment would have to be approved by the Senate, as is required for all U.S. ambassadors.
It would also require the U.S. president to establish an “inter-agency Taiwan Task Force” comprised of senior government officials who would submit an annual report to Congress detailing actions that should be taken to enhance U.S.-Taiwan relations.
Another provision would establish a nonprofit U.S.-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Foundation, which would work with local governments and educational institutions to send American high school and university students to Taiwan to study Chinese, history and politics.
The act would also direct the American secretary of state to submit a report to Congress on how the U.S. could work with the Taiwanese government to establish an alternative to China’s Confucius Institutes, which offer Chinese language education courses globally.
In 2020, the bill was never included in the congressional agenda, while in 2021, it reached the Committee on Foreign Relations but did not make it out of the committee.
