Congress Approves Ukraine Bill Endorsing Taiwan—China’s Reaction
China has chastised the United States for a $95 billion aid package that includes military support for Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine.
The Chinese embassy in the United States informed Newsweek that the bill, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 79–18, contravenes long-standing bilateral accords and “sends a wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists.”
Despite the fact that the Chinese Communist Party has never been present in Taiwan, China views it as a rogue province and believes that unification is inevitable. Since Taiwan’s election of the China-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party to office in 2016, Beijing has increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressure, forcing the self-governing island to increase defense spending.
“Strong dissatisfaction” was expressed by embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu over the law, stating that “the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese.”
“Some people in the U.S. should immediately correct their wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan issue and return to the right path of abiding by the One-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués,” he stated.
The United States has adhered to the “one China principle” for many years, acknowledging Beijing’s assertion that it represents both China and Taiwan, even though it may not always agree with this position.
Liu mentioned three communiqués that contained declarations from the United States and China during the period of normalization of their relations in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The United States stated in the third communiqué that it will eventually cut back on arms deliveries to Taiwan, although it gave no timeframe. Under the terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington pledged to arm the independent island with defense weaponry.
Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the United States said on X (formerly Twitter) that “Taiwan deeply appreciates the U.S. Congress for the passage of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, which will provide critical support for Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”
About $1.9 billion of the $8 billion in money designated for Taiwan, according to the country’s defense ministry, will go toward military supplies and training. An additional $2 billion is allocated for the purpose of “foreign military financing” for Taiwan and multiple other nations within the Indo-Pacific area.
When the bill hits his desk on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said late on Tuesday night that he would be signing it into law.
“The needs is urgent: for Ukraine, facing unrelenting bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and those impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including in Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti; and for partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” according to a statement from the White House.
In addition, if ByteDance, the Chinese parent firm of the well-known social media site, doesn’t get out of the bill, TikTok will be banned in the US.
The vote was held during the second visit to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in less than a year.
In the run-up to Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te’s inauguration on May 20, the ambassador is anticipated to put pressure on Beijing to refrain from acting provocatively. Additionally, he will put pressure on China to stop exporting goods with two uses, which can help the Russian military invade Ukraine.
The visit of Blinken occurs at a time when the largest and second-largest economies in the world are trying to resolve differences in a variety of sectors without going back to the icy relations of the previous year.
