Recently, 11 American senators introduced the “2024 Strategic Act” to ensure victory in competition with the Chinese Communist Party, with the content including support for Taiwan from economic, diplomatic, and military perspectives. Taiwan Legislator Chen Guanting commented that the “2024 Strategic Act” will break through the unofficial framework of Taiwan-US relations and open up new possibilities for bilateral relations.
The Republican leader of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, and 11 Republican federal senators jointly proposed the comprehensive anti-communist bill “2024 Strategic Act of 2024”. This proposal includes a series of strong measures to address the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party, including strengthening US support for Taiwan and partner countries facing threats from China: establishing a special task force within the State Department/Treasury Department to identify sanctions, export controls, and other economic measures targets before China takes military action.
In response to the “2024 Strategic Act,” Taiwanese Legislator Chen Guanting expressed his views in a media group, stating that the bill could help break the long-standing unofficial framework of Taiwan-US relations and pioneer new avenues for the relationship between the two countries.
Chen Guanting pointed out that past agreements such as the Taiwan Relations Act and the “Three Communiqués and One Guarantee” have ensured the Taiwan-US relationship but have also to some extent restricted official interactions. The current “2024 Strategic Act” attempts to break this framework, such as elevating the position of the Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei to “representative” and requiring Senate confirmation for appointments, effectively elevating it to quasi-ambassadorial level.
“Past US administrations have set many restrictions on official Taiwan-US interactions,” said Chen Guanting, referring to the use of the terms “Taiwanese people” and “Taiwan authorities” in the Taiwan Relations Act; the new bill aims to enhance official exchanges. He stated that while the US currently officially acknowledges Taiwan may face challenges, starting comprehensive official interactions is a very welcome development. This interaction will play a key role in the potential future upgrade of diplomatic relations.
Regarding the provision in the bill that no longer restricts senior Taiwanese officials’ visits to the US, Chen Guanting believes this could mean adjusting the past practice of limiting Taiwanese officials’ access to the White House. “This is a very positive development, very welcome.”
Chen Guanting said that the full name of Taiwan’s representative office in the United States is currently “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States.” He stated, “In the future, we hope to have the opportunity to change ‘Economic and Cultural’ to ‘Taiwan representative office,’ which will have more significance.”
“This bill is fantastic and a great step forward,” said Chen Guanting. He added, “The previous ‘One Act and Three Communiqués’ imposed relatively strict limitations on official exchanges between Taiwan and the US, and the significance of this bill lies in easing those constraints. We warmly welcome and are pleased to see such developments.”
Chen Guanting mentioned that while a large-scale resumption of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the US in the short term may still pose difficulties, everyone looks forward to seeing more countries breaking through the “one China framework” in their interactions with Taiwan. “This will be a gradual but crucial process.”
He emphasized that as many countries are watching the actions of the US, if the US makes breakthroughs in its relations with Taiwan, other countries are likely to follow suit. This will not only strengthen Taiwan-US relations but also potentially lead to a comprehensive enhancement of Taiwan’s relationships with other democratic countries, gaining more support and recognition for Taiwan on the international stage.