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Connolly, Curtis, Bipartisan Coalition Introduce Legislation To Protect Taiwan From Foreign Interference

Washington, April 19, 2021

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Taiwan Solidarity with the Co-Chairs of the Taiwan Caucus, and the Chair and Ranking Member of the Asia Subcommittee: Albio Sires (D-NJ), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Steve Chabot (R-OH). 

“For too long, Beijing has distorted policies and procedures at the UN and related bodies to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, often to the detriment of global health and security efforts,”said Connolly.“This bipartisan legislation ensures that we stand in solidarity with this critical U.S. partner.”

“The TAIPEI Act has greatly strengthened our relationship with Taiwan as both the Trump and Biden Administrations have worked to fulfil its mandate. However, since the bill’s signing last year, China has mounted pressure on international organizations to claim that Taiwan is part of China,” said Curtis. “This bill adds to the TAIPEI Act in a way that would counter these attempt.”

“I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, and I thank my friends Representatives Connolly and Curtis for their leadership,” said Chairman Bera. “With this bill, we reaffirm the United States will not stand by as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) falsely claims that Beijing has the right to represent the people of Taiwan in international institutions. Despite what Chinese officials may assert, the UN resolution that recognized representatives of the PRC Government as China’s only lawful representatives to the United Nations is silent on how the people of Taiwan should be represented in the world body, and on Taiwan’s status vis-à-vis the PRC. No one should be allowed to distort UN decisions to misrepresent the position of the United Nations, much less to impose those distortions on other UN Member States, as is happening on the issue of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international institutions.”

“As a longtime supporter of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, I have consistently worked to ensure that the voice of Taiwan’s people is heard in these multilateral bodies,” said Ranking Member Chabot. “The PRC has long used U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 as a pretext to bully the international community into supporting its bogus sovereignty claims over Taiwan and its One China Principle, despite the fact the Resolution does not address Taiwan’s status. This has led to Taiwan being excluded from international organizations like the World Health Organization, INTERPOL, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), creating needless gaps in these important mechanisms. I am pleased to support Congressmen Connolly and Curtis’ important legislation today to push back on Beijing’s overreach.”

“The PRC has used a wide array of troubling tactics to strongarm other nations in order to undermine Taiwan,” said Rep. Sires. “As a co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and a long-standing supporter of Taiwan, I am proud to cosponsor this legislation which will strengthen Taiwan’s standing in the international arena.”

This legislation amends the TAIPEI Act, Congressman Curtis’s bill that was signed into law in  March 2020, which countered China’s poaching of Taiwan’s allies and excluding Taiwan from international organizations. The Taiwan Solidarity Act expands on this to further counter China’s attempts to use international organizations to claim that Taiwan is part of China by distorting the language, policies, and procedures of international organizations. 

Background

  • China has leveraged its growing influence in the United Nations (UN) and international organizations to exclude Taiwan’s participation in the international arena and has distorted UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to claim that the resolution recognized Taiwan as part of China.
  • As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has withheld invitation to Taiwan to participate as an Observer at the World Health Assembly’s annual meetings and excluded Taiwan from the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which undoubtedly exacerbated the outbreak of COVID-19. 
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