118TH Congress,2nd Session
To support Taiwan’s international space, and for other purposes
On Friday, May 10, 2024, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the strategic competition between the United States and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) introduced the bipartisan Taiwan Allies Fund Act to support Taiwan’s international space and counter CCP coercion alongside House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Taiwan Caucus Co-Chairs Andy Barr (R-KY), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Gerald Connolly (D-VA).
The bipartisan legislation strengthens Taiwan’s global network of friends by authorizing $120 million over three years for the State Department and USAID to provide foreign assistance to Taiwan’s official and unofficial partners subjected to coercion and pressure from the CCP.
“The Chinese Communist Party has spent decades trying to isolate the free people of Taiwan from the world stage and coerce other nations into severing relations with the thriving democracy. Our legislation will help Taiwan’s diplomatic allies resist CCP authoritarian pressure campaigns while meeting their development needs. The United States must stand with those who stand with Taiwan,” said Chairman Moolenaar.
Since 2013, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under CCP rule, has enticed 11 countries to sever relations with Taiwan in favor of the PRC, often through bribes and economic inducements. With Nauru’s switch in January 2024, only 12 allies remain. Meanwhile, the PRC has weaponized trade and commercial ties to punish countries seeking closer unofficial ties with Taiwan, such as Lithuania.
“The CCP has engaged in a years-long campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, one of our closest friends in the world,” said ranking member Krishnamoorthi. “Their attempts to intimidate and influence countries who diplomatically recognize Taiwan and economically coerce those who seek to strengthen unofficial relations must be condemned and rejected. It is time for the United States to stand with Taiwan in the face of diplomatic pressure from Beijing that seeks to undermine Taiwan’s rightful participation on the international stage.”
“In the face of an increasingly hostile and aggressive PRC, American support for Taiwan is more important now than ever,” said Rep. Connolly. “The PRC’s attempts to intimidate friends of Taiwan and isolate Taiwan in the international sphere must never go unanswered. Today, we speak with one voice in support of our friend and partner, Taiwan.”
You can read the full text of the Taiwan Allies Fund Act here.
