Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: Since 1949, the close relationship between the United States and Taiwan has been of enormous benefit to both parties and to the Indo-Pacific region as a whole. The Taiwan Relations Act ( Public Law 96–8 ; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq. ) has enabled the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan to maintain a strong and important relationship that promotes regional security, prosperity, and shared democratic values. The security of Taiwan and the ability for the people of Taiwan to determine their own future is fundamental to United States interests and values.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States and the American Institute in Taiwan facilitate critical consular relations that— protect the interests of the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan; and strengthen people-to-people ties. Increased engagement between public officials, commercial interests, civil society leaders, and others enhances Taiwanese-American relations and its economic, security, and democratic dimensions. Taiwan serves as a critical partner on regional and transnational issues, such as public health, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, cybersecurity, trade, and freedom of navigation.
Taiwan exemplifies a thriving democracy consisting of more than 23,000,000 people who value their suffrage, free markets, right to due process, freedom of expression, and other individual liberties. President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (referred to in this Act as the PRC ) continues to repeat his desire to stifle the freedom of Taiwan, as evidenced by his July 2021 proclamation, in which he stated, All sons and daughters of China, including compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must work together and move forward in solidarity, resolutely smashing any Taiwan independence plots. .
As President Xi Jinping concentrates his power in the Chinese Communist Party (referred to in this Act as the CCP ), he is escalating the PRC’s campaign of coercion and intimidation against Taiwan, as evidenced by— the accelerated preparations made by the PRC and its People’s Liberation Army (referred to in this Act as the PLA ) for an offensive attack against Taiwan, such as the PLA's January 2022 incursion of nearly 40 fighters, bombers, and other warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone; the PLA’s growing offensive preparations in the Taiwan Strait, such as amphibious assault and live-fire exercises and record-scale incursions into Taiwanese air space; the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic efforts to isolate Taiwan, such as abusing its position in international intuitions and multilateral fora to exclude Taiwanese participation despite Taiwan’s demonstrated expertise in relevant subjects, such as public health; threats and actions to compromise Taiwan’s economy and critical suppliers, such as draconian export controls and the 31 Measures intended to lure Taiwanese talent to mainland China and away from Taiwan; persistent and targeted cyberattacks, numbering nearly 20,000,000 per month, which are intended to compromise Taiwan’s critical infrastructure and inflict civilian harm; and political and economic pressure on other countries who seek closer ties with Taiwan, such as recent export controls related to Lithuania after Lithuania announced a permanent Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania.
On multiple occasions, through both formal and informal channels, the United States has expressed its concern for the PRC’s destabilizing activities in the Taiwan Strait and on the international stage that aim to subvert Taiwan’s democratic intuitions. The Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States— identifies Taiwan as an important leading regional partner; seeks to bolster Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities; and reaffirms that Taiwan’s future must be determined peacefully and in accordance with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan.
The PRC considers stifling the freedom of Taiwan as a critical and necessary step to displacing the United States as the preeminent military power in the Indo-Pacific and continues its modernization campaign to enhance the power-projection capabilities of the PLA and its ability to conduct joint operations. Taiwan maintains a modern, ready, self-defense force that adheres to the highest democratic principles and benefits from continued state of the art security assistance. It is a vital national security interest of the United States to defend Taiwan for the purposes of— mitigating the PLA’s ability to project power and establish contested zones within the First and Second Island Chains and limiting the PLA’s freedom of maneuver to conduct unconstrained power projection capabilities beyond the First Island Chain in order to protect United States territory, such as Hawaii and Guam; defending the territorial integrity of Indo-Pacific allies, such as Japan; deterring other countries and competitors from exercising force as a means to revise the established status quo; championing democratic institutions and societies in the Indo-Pacific region and throughout the world; and maintaining a rules-based international order that— constrains authoritarian powers; enshrines collective security; promotes democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and promotes peace and prosperity.
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- Pub. L. 96-8
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