Taiwan Hosts 60 International Lawmakers in Washington to Push China Sanctions

By IndraStra Global News Team

Cover Image Attribute: Twin Oaks,  a 17-acre estate located in the Cleveland Park neighborhood in Washington, D.C., United States. It acts as an official embassy of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), currently represented by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. / Source: Gary Dee, Wikimedia Commons

On September 13, 2022, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador in Washington, hosted dozens of international lawmakers from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The unexpected get-together of 60 lawmakers at Taiwan's sweeping hilltop diplomatic mansion in Washington, known as Twin Oaks, is the latest move in Taipei's efforts to persuade fellow democracies to stand against China.

Last month, China conducted blockade-style military drills around Taiwan after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, a reaction Taiwanese officials have credited for spurring an uptick in foreign engagement that Beijing views as a violation of its sovereignty claims over the island. 

Hsiao, speaking to the lawmakers, who, according to a guest list seen by Reuters, hailed from countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Lithuania, Ukraine, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, told the gathering: "It is important to demonstrate to the bully that we have friends too."

The lawmakers are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which is holding its annual gathering in Washington this week. And the members of IPAC are expected to sign a pledge to encourage their respective governments to adopt "greater deterrence against military or other coercive" actions taken by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against Taiwan. IPAC was established on June 4, 2020, on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The alliance comprises over 100 MPs from the world's democratic legislatures; Ireland became the 20th nation to join the coalition in February 2021.

According to the draft (of the pledge), seen by Reuters, "We will campaign to ensure our governments signal to the PRC that military aggression towards Taiwan will cost Beijing dearly. Economic and political measures, including meaningful sanctions, should be considered to deter military escalation, and to ensure trade and other exchanges with Taiwan can continue unimpeded."

Reuters has been told by sources with knowledge of the situation that the United States government is considering imposing penalties against China to dissuade the Chinese government from invading Taiwan, and Taipei is putting diplomatic pressure on the European Union to do the same thing.

Earlier in June, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez, a Democrat, and Republican Lindsey Graham introduced a bill — the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 (S.4428). According to its text, it threatens severe sanctions against China for any aggression against Taiwan. In addition, it would provide $4.5 billion in foreign military financing over the next four years and designate Taiwan as a "major non-NATO ally." This bill would be the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 — the bedrock of U.S. engagement with the island since Washington opened up relations with China that year.

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