U.S. lawmakers expect sweeping legislation to boost the country’s ability to push back against China will advance through a Senate panel on Thursday.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee members were set to debate the “Strategic Competition Act of 2021,” and consider amendments, before voting on whether to send it for a vote in the 100-member Senate.

We’re really pleased that there is such a high degree of bipartisan consensus on this piece of legislation and on how to approach Communist China and the Indo-Pacific region more broadly, a Democratic congressional aide told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.

The 280-page bill, details of which were first reported by Reuters on April 8, addresses economic competition with China, but also humanitarian and democratic values, such as imposing sanctions over the treatment of the minority Muslim Uyghurs and supporting democracy in Hong Kong.

Committee members filed some 150 amendments, the aide said.

The bill is part of a fast-track effort announced in February by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mr. Chuck Schumer to pass a wide range of legislation to counter China.

Having something that is embedded into the statutory framework, that is durable and enduring, is really important, particularly if you’re looking at the sort of competition that we envisage with the Communist China in the years and decades ahead, the aide said.

The measure also calls for hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, which still must be arranged.

We’ve got to make sure the money is there, the aide said. If you don’t resource a strategy, you don’t actually have a strategy. We are acutely aware of the need to make sure that the resources are aligned with the enormity and scale of the challenge that we face across every dimension of power, the aide added.


WHO will have to recognise Taiwan and invite it to the gathering

The measures will follow Monday bill that called upon the US government and its allies to stop Beijing's influence on the international organisations to discriminate Taiwan.

A bipartisan coalition of US congressmen on Monday introduced legislation that aims to counter China’s claim to represent Taiwan in international organizations.

For too long, Beijing has distorted policies and procedures at the UN and related bodies to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, often to the detriment of global health and security efforts, US Representative Gerry Connolly said in a news release.

Mr. Connolly cosponsored the bill with the three other chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus — US representatives Mr. Albio Sires, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart and Mr. Steve Chabot — along with US Representative Mr John Curtis and US Representative Mr. Ami Bera, who chairs the foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia.

According to a draft provided by Curtis’ office, the “Taiwan International Solidarity Act” foremost aims to clarify the content of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which recognizes the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China” in the UN.

The 1971 resolution says nothing about Taiwan’s representation in the UN or related organizations, nor does it declare a stance on the relationship between the PRC and Taiwan, the draft says.


US representatives will be obliged to support recognition of Taiwan

The PRC has long used the resolution “as a pretext to bully the international community into supporting its bogus sovereignty claims over Taiwan and its ‘one China’ principle, despite the fact the resolution does not address Taiwan’s status, Mr. Chabot said.

This has led to Taiwan’s exclusion from organizations such as the WHO, Interpol and the International Civil Aviation Organization, he added.

Whenever appropriate, US representatives should use their voice, vote or influence to resist Chinese attempts to distort the decisions, language, policies or procedures of such organizations regarding Taiwan, the draft says.

It also declares US opposition to any attempts to change Taiwan’s status without the consent of the Taiwanese people.

The bill would amend the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act of 2019, which instructs the US to advocate for Taiwan’s participation in such organizations.

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