The Taiwan Security Enhancement Act () was a U.S. Congressional bill which never became law. On February 1, 2000, the bill was passed by one body of the U.S. Congress, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 341 to 70. It envisaged greater United States military support of the Republic of China/Taiwan, including training and equipment. It also contemplated establishing direct military communication lines between the United States and Taiwan. It was never approved by the U.S. Senate or signed into law by the U.S. president.
Its proponents intended the proposed law to strengthen and update the Taiwan Relations Act, which was passed soon after the U.S. ceased official relations with the Republic of China (now commonly known as Taiwan) on December 31, 1978, and instead recognized the People's Republic of China on January 1, 1979. President Jimmy Carter had unilaterally withdrawn from the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty establishing a defense pact between the United States and the Republic of China in January 1979, and the Taiwan Relations Act was Congress's response to enforce and prevent excessive unilateral foreign policy change at the hands of the President without consent of Congress.
U.S. President opposed proposed law
The U.S. president at the time, Bill Clinton, opposed the proposed legislation. However, most Democrats in Congress supported the legislation despite President Clinton's opposition.
Beijing response
From the Chinese perspective, the bill was incompatible with the policies of the previous six United States administrations, particularly Ronald Reagan's 1982 Joint Communique. The Chinese Government's spokesperson, responding to press inquiries, gave the Beijing Government's response as follows:
See also
- Political status of Taiwan
- China–United States relations
- Taiwan–United States relations
External links
- Text of the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act
- Library Of Congress Bill Summary