Taiwan Relations Act

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Taiwan Relations Act
Clement J. Zablocki (DWI) on February 28, 1979
  • Committee consideration by House Foreign Affairs
  • Passed the House on March 13, 1979 (345–55)
  • Passed the Senate on March 14, 1979 (90–6)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on March 24, 1979; agreed to by the House on March 28, 1979 (339–50) and by the Senate on March 29, 1979 (85–4)
  • Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter
  • on April 10, 1979

    The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA;

    US and Taiwan
    .

    Background

    In 1978, the

    (ROC).

    The ROC government mobilized the

    anti-communist China sentiment, a shared wartime history with the ROC, Beijing's human rights violations and its curtailment of religious freedoms.[3][4]

    Senator

    U.S. Constitution, and that by not doing so, President Carter had acted beyond the powers of his office. The case ultimately was dismissed as non-justiciable and left open the constitutional question regarding a president's authority to dismiss a treaty unilaterally.[5]

    The Act was passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by President Carter in 1979 after the breaking of relations between the US and the ROC. Congress rejected the

    District of Columbia, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), without official government representation or formal diplomatic relations.[6]
    The Act entered retroactively into force, effective January 1, 1979.

    Provisions

    Definition of Taiwan

    The act does not recognize the terminology of "Republic of China" after 1 January 1979, but uses the terminology of "governing authorities on Taiwan". Geographically speaking and following the similar content in the earlier

    Pescadores (Penghu). Of the other islands or archipelagos under the control of the Republic of China, Kinmen, the Matsus, etc., are left outside the definition of Taiwan.[7]

    De facto diplomatic relations

    The act authorizes

    Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty
    .

    The TRA provides for Taiwan to be treated under U.S. laws the same as "foreign countries, nations, states, governments, or similar entities", thus treating Taiwan as a sub-sovereign foreign state equivalent. The act provides that for most practical purposes of the U.S. government, the absence of diplomatic relations and

    recognition will have no effect.[8]

    Military provisions

    The TRA does not guarantee or relinquish the U.S. intervening militarily if the PRC attacks or invades Taiwan, as its primary purpose is to ensure that the Taiwan policy will not be changed unilaterally by the U.S. president and ensure any decision to defend Taiwan will be made with the consent of the Congress. The act states that "the United States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability" and "shall maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan".

    strategic ambiguity," and it is designed to dissuade Taiwan from a unilateral declaration of independence, and to dissuade the PRC from unilaterally unifying Taiwan with the PRC.[citation needed
    ]

    The TRA further stipulates that the United States will "consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by

    Western Pacific
    area and of grave concern to the United States."

    The TRA requires the United States to have a policy "to provide Taiwan with

    defensive character" and "to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion
    that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan."

    Successive U.S. administrations have sold arms to Taiwan despite demands from the PRC that the U.S. follow

    One-China policy

    Reaction and reaffirmation

    The TRA's passage caused Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping to begin viewing the United States as an insincere partner willing to abandon its previous commitments to China.[10]

    Reagan administration

    The PRC aligned itself with the

    Reagan administration's Six Assurances
    offered to Taipei in 1982.

    Clinton administration

    In the late 1990s, the United States Congress passed a non-binding resolution stating that relations between Taiwan and the United States will be honored through the TRA first. This resolution, which puts greater weight on the TRA's value over that of the three communiques, was signed by President Bill Clinton.[11][12] Both chambers of Congress have repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of the TRA.[13]

    Since 2000

    A July 2007 Congressional Research Service Report confirmed that U.S. policy has not recognized the PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan.[14] The PRC continues to view the TRA as "an unwarranted intrusion by the United States into the internal affairs of China".[15] The United States has continued to supply Taiwan with armaments and China has continued to protest.[16]

    Bipartisan affirmation (2016)

    On 19 May 2016, one day before

    United States–Taiwan relations.[17][18][19]

    See also

    References

    1. .
    2. .
    3. ^ a b Dittmer, Lowell (2001). "Reform and Chinese foreign policy". In Zhao, Jianmin; Dickson, Bruce (eds.). Remaking the Chinese State: Strategies, Society, and Security. Routledge. p. 179.
    4. Taiwan Today
      , 07/01/2009
    5. ^ China Mutual Defense (1954), American Institute in Taiwan
    6. UCSD
    7. 臺北縣
      : 淡江大學東南亞研究所. p. 9. 對於台灣的定義是規定在第十五條第二款:「台灣一詞:包括台灣島及澎湖群島,這些島上的居民,依據此等島所實施的法律而成立的公司或其他法人,以及1979年1月1日前美國所承認為中華民國的台灣統治當局與任何繼位統治當局(包括其政治與執政機構。)」從而可知,台灣關係法所規範的台灣只包括台灣和澎湖群島,並不包括金門、馬祖等外島。
    8. ^ Taiwan Relations Act: Public Law 96-8 96th Congress Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Sec. 4 under APPLICATION OF LAWS; INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
    9. ^ https://www.congress.gov/96/statute/STATUTE-93/STATUTE-93-Pg14.pdf[bare URL PDF]
    10. .
    11. ^ H.Con.Res.56 - Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act., Congress.gov, 3/17/1999
    12. ^ H.Con.Res.53 - Concerning the Taiwan Relations Act., Congress.gov, 3/11/1999
    13. ^ H.Con.Res.117 - Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Government should reaffirm its unwavering commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act as the cornerstone of United States relations with Taiwan, and for other purposes., Congress.gov, 3/25/2003
    14. ^ CRS Report to Congress
    15. ^ Embassy of the People's Republic of China: China opposes US congress' resolution on Taiwan (19/07/2004)
    16. ^ The Editorial Board (December 24, 2015). "China's Tantrum on Taiwan Arms Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2015. The new arms package, which includes two navy frigates, antitank missiles, combat systems for minesweepers, amphibious attack vehicles and communications systems....
    17. ^ Menendez, Rubio: "Six Assurances" Continued Foundation of U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Senator Bob Menendez, May 19, 2016
    18. ^ Rubio, Menendez: ‘Six Assurances’ Continued Foundation Of U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Senator Marco Rubio, May 19, 2016
    19. ^ S.Con.Res.38 - A concurrent resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations., Congress.gov, May 19, 2016

    External links