China resolutely opposes the "Taiwan Assurance Act" and has lodged solemn representations with the United States, said Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. Geng's remarks come after the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the so-called "Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019," which supports Taiwan increasing its defense spending. The legislation also notes Washington should conduct "regular sales and defense articles" to Taiwan and back its participation in international organizations. The act severely violates the one-China principle and stipulations in the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, Geng stressed. He said the legislation interferes with China's internal affairs, harms China's sovereignty and security interests, and seriously damages China-U.S. ties. "We urge the United States to keep its promise, abide by the one-China principle and the three joint communiques, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently to avoid serious damage to bilateral ties as well as to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," noted Geng.<doc-sep>The US House of Representatives on May 7 passed the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 and House Resolution 273 which reaffirmed the US commitment to the island of Taiwan and the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act, according to Asia Times. Reuters reported that the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 will enable the US to make "regular sales of defense articles" to the island of Taiwan and support Taiwan's "participation in international organizations. "There are several causes behind the House's passing the bills. One is to further strengthen ties with the island of Taiwan. Moreover, some hawkish US lawmakers attempt to play the Taiwan card to boost domestic support. Currently, tensions between Beijing and Washington are rising. Taiwan card can be used to provoke the Chinese mainland. Some believe the US executive branch has been too weak in upgrading ties with Taiwan and hope to pressure them to promote further measures.The Taiwan question has always been intertwined with China-US relations.Mutual trust between Beijing and Washington is gradually weakening while the strategic game between them is getting increasingly intense.Since Tsai Ing-wen became the leader of Taiwan region, cross-Straits relations have been deteriorating. Taiwan regional leadership election will be held in 2020 and some politicians in Taiwan hope to use US-Taiwan relations as a lever to canvass the constituency.Meanwhile, the US has increasingly challenged the one-China principle in recent years. For example, a US Navy research vessel docked in Kaosiung, a Taiwan's southern port city in October 2018; Amanda Mansour, spokesperson of American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) confirmed in April 2019 that the US Department of State has deployed US soldiers at AIT since 2005; the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 also directs the US secretary of defense to work to include Taiwan in bilateral and multilateral military training exercises.In spite of orally abiding by the one-China principle, the connotation of US one-China principle is being hollowed out. The US House's recent legislation on Taiwan shows they hope to continue this trend and the US may come up with new moves on Taiwan in the future.In the coming years, US ties with the island of Taiwan may deepen. The US tries to use pro-Taiwan policies to pressure the mainland. Therefore, US willingness to support Taiwan will be increasingly strong. In the context of current cross-Straits tensions, the island of Taiwan will actively cooperate with the US, or even prompt the US to take measures to enhance their bilateral ties, which is important for Tsai.Since Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 is only the "sense of the Congress" and the US Senate has not voted on the act, Beijing is not supposed to overreact. We need to show to the US that its recent moves on Taiwan will escalate China-US tensions and impede cooperation in other fields, such as on the North Korea n nuclear issues. Additionally, we have to convince the US Congress of the danger of its pro-Taiwan moves, which play a detrimental role in China-US ties.Besides the pro-Taiwan groups in the US, Taiwan regional administration also pushed the two acts. We should warn the island of Taiwan that if Tsai "administration" tries to play the US card, they need to pay the price. If there are further moves between the US and the island of Taiwan, we can increase the pressure on Taiwan, including limiting its participation in international organizations, or taking some military measures, such as military exercises and warships cruising around the island. In all, we need to send a deterrent signal to Taiwan and warn it against playing with fire.The author is deputy director of the Center for US Studies at Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn<doc-sep>Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-09 16:40:27|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the "Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019" that reaffirms "the United States commitment to Taiwan and to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act," which raised concern in the international community. It is widely considered that the U.S. move interferes in China's internal affairs and would damage China-U.S. relations and regional peace. "The UN (United Nations) continues to support a one-China policy in accordance with the relevant resolutions, including the 1971 resolution of the General Assembly," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told Xinhua. Former Deputy Director of the editorial office for Asia at the Voice of Russia radio station Alexander Zelenkov warned that the U.S. actions can cause "irreparable damage" to China-U.S. relations and very seriously complicate the situation in Southeast Asia. Zelenkov also said that the problem of Taiwan directly affects the sovereignty of China and concessions in this area for China are impossible. Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, professor of international relations at the University of Yaounde 1 in Cameroon and a former minister, noted that the proposed legislation questions the United States' credibility on the international scene as it had agreed with China on the one-China principle. "By this act, the United States is breaking its promise and sincerity," he said. The recent move by the United States is "a continuation of the wrong U.S. policies under (U.S. President Donald) Trump in dealing with its ties with China," said Samy Al-Qamhawi, a specialist in Chinese affairs at the Egyptian newspaper Ahram. "The Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 violates and harms the one-China principle and destroys the unity that China has adopted," he added. "The United States only exploits Taiwan to put more pressure on China." Eduardo Regalado, a researcher at Cuba's Center for International Policy, said that the United States is trying to make a stronger containment exercise towards China with the delicate Taiwan issue, deeply hurting the feelings of the Chinese people. "The United States is approaching a very dangerous edge," said Regalado. "They are getting into a very sensitive issue because China will never negotiate a millimeter with respect to Taiwan and much less under pressure."<doc-sep>
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 7) unanimously backed the “Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019,” which supports Taiwan and urges it to increase its defense spending. Taiwan’s Minister without Portfolio, John Deng Chen-chung (鄧振中), told Liberty Times on Thursday (May 9) that the passage of Taiwan Assurance Act might help lay the groundwork for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taiwan and the U.S. As the chief negotiator for the Office of Trade Negotiations, Deng explained that the House of Representatives has called on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to resume Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meetings with Taiwan, with the signing of a bilateral FTA as the goal. As for the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China, Deng said the entire world is closely following their development. Results of the U.S.-China trade negotiations will affect the global economy and it remains to be seen how they will affect Taiwan, added Deng. It is not clear when Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 might come up for a vote in the Senate for it to become law. In response, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said the bill was “a gross interference” in China’s internal affairs at a regular press conference on Wednesday (May 8). China urged the U.S. to stop Congress from reviewing and passing the bill and to properly handle Taiwan-related issues to “prevent severe damages to bilateral cooperation in key areas and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” Apart from supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 also states that Taiwan is an important part of the U.S. strategy in the region, while urging the U.S. to conduct sales of defense articles to enhance Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.