The U.S. Congress Contemplates Momentous Bill Against China

Welcome to Sound of Hope News, I'm Golden Li. China's recent attempts to intimidate Taiwan has backfired, and as a result, reinforced the U.S. Congress' nonpartisan stance against the Chinese Communist Party. Congress is mulling over a momentous Taiwan-related bill called the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022. This new legislation aims at reframing the long-standing U.S. policy toward Taiwan. Voice of America reported that the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 contains several important symbolic provisions. One example is designating Taiwan as a major non-NATO ally, and that the U.S. government will treat the Taiwanese government as the legitimate representative of the Taiwanese people. Mere talk of the preparation of the bill is upsetting the CCP, much more than House Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. The bill contains substantive provisions, such as providing $4.5 billion in security assistance to Taiwan, strengthening U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation, and establishing a high-level military planning mechanism between the U.S. and Taiwan. Chairman of Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Bob Menendez and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham jointly proposed the bill. They stated that the bill is the most comprehensive restructuring of the U.S. policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. If passed by Congress and signed by the president, this bill would have a much bigger impact on Sino-U.S. relations than Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. A professor at the Department of Politics at the National Taiwan University, Ming-Chu Jim, pointed out that the Taiwan Relations Act was built on the premise of seeking peaceful resolutions of the Taiwan issue when the Sino-U.S. diplomatic relation was established. If the CCP abandons this premise, the United States can certainly cut off or threaten to cut off diplomatic relations with China. China's recent naval blockade, economic embargo, and large-scale cyberattack on Taiwan are all non-peaceful actions. Therefore, if the CCP continues these hostile actions against Taiwan, it must consider the consequences.