• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

U.S. House committee advances bills to support Taiwan, deter China

ROC Central News Agency

03/01/2023 11:53 AM

Washington, Feb. 28 (CNA) The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed a series of bills on Tuesday aimed at increasing Taiwan's international participation and using financial mechanisms to deter a Chinese invasion.

The bills, titled the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, the PROTECT Taiwan Act and the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act, were approved with unanimous support and will now be advanced for debate in the full House of Representatives.

Of the draft bills, the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act would instruct the U.S. to advocate for Taiwan's membership in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to push for the IMF to offer Taiwan technical assistance and training and provide Taiwanese nationals with equal employment opportunities.

Introducing the bill, Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) noted that Taiwan is one of the U.S.' top 10 trading partners and is the fifth-largest holder of foreign reserves in the world.

"Taiwan is one of the world's most astonishing economic growth stories. So why wouldn't we want its experiences to inform the work of the IMF?" she said.

The other two proposals both sought to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan through the threat of financial repercussions.

The Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, sponsored by Rep. French Hill (R-AR), would require the U.S. to publish the financial assets of top Chinese leaders, and to cut them and their family members off from financial services, if China were to invade Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the PROTECT Taiwan Act, introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), would direct the U.S. government to push for the exclusion of China from international organizations including the G20 and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in the event of an invasion.

The Republican-led committee also advanced several other bills on Tuesday, including the Chinese Currency Accountability Act, the China Exchange Rate Transparency Act and the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act -- aimed at helping the U.S. combat "the economic threat from China."

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/ls