Recently, U.S. congressmen have frequently manipulated China’s Taiwan issue. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Markey have been rushing to Taiwan despite warnings. This phenomenon has attracted the attention of the American media. Bloomberg News reported on August 15 that Pelosi and others’ escaping from Taiwan is just part of a series of recent Taiwan-related actions by the U.S. Congress. Data show that in the past decade, at least 149 members of Congress have moved to power; in just over a year since Biden took office, there have been 33. Bloomberg believes that these actions by the two parties in the United States are “forcing” Biden to challenge China’s red line. And these actions will actually cause harm to the interests of the United States. Bloomberg bluntly stated that the “disharmonious” move of the US Congress not only increases the risk of miscalculation, but also may disrupt the broader relationship between China and the United States, including negotiations on tariffs, climate change, defense and other fields.
The U.S. congressional delegation roamed the stage. AP picture
According to an analysis by a senior researcher at the East-West Center, a congressional research organization, the U.S. Congress is now making a “dramatic gesture”, and lawmakers from both parties are “using Taiwan to advertise morality without considering the adverse effects on other U.S. interests.” Bloomberg also wrote that the “discordant” move by the U.S. Congress could disrupt the broader relationship between the world’s largest economies, namely China and the United States.
In just over a year since Biden took office, 33 lawmakers have come to power.Bloomberg Statistics
On August 14, Makey, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a group of five members of the two parties to visit Taiwan. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on the 15th, saying that a small number of politicians in the United States and the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces are in unison in their attempts to challenge the one-China principle. The spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense announced on the same day that the PLA will continue to train and prepare for war, resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely smash any form of “Taiwan independence” separatism and foreign interference attempts.
On August 15, Bloomberg published an article pointing out that Pelosi and others have gone to Taiwan only as part of a series of recent Taiwan-related actions by the US Congress. Data shows that in the past ten years, at least 149 US congressmen have entered the stage, of which about 60% are Republicans; during the Trump administration, there were 35, and just over a year after Biden took office, there were 33. A congressman visits Taiwan.
It is worth noting that Democrats have already surpassed Republicans this year. In this regard, Bloomberg believes that “these actions of the two parties are forcing Biden to test China’s red line-whether he wants to or not”; a more hawkish move by Congress will also face Biden with a choice-he is willing to be in domestic affairs Or appear weaker in relations with China.
The data shows that members of Congress from both parties are racing to move to Taiwan.
Bloomberg also predicted that Biden’s next fight with Congress may focus on the “Taiwan Policy Act” around the issue of China.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee was originally scheduled to review the so-called “Taiwan Policy Act” on the afternoon of August 3. The bill was chaired by Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, and Senator Graham, a Republican, who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lindsey Graham) co-presented in June. The bill advocates “strengthening Taiwan’s defenses” and threatens to make Taiwan a “major non-NATO ally” of the United States. The bill also calls for prioritizing and accelerating arms sales to Taiwan until Congress determines that the “threat” to Taiwan has been significantly reduced.
US media once described that this has completely changed the US policy towards Taiwan for decades, and it also reflects that both parties are promoting different tough measures in the field of China.
But before the August 3 deliberation, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee temporarily delayed deliberation of the bill on the grounds that Menendez must participate in the chamber. Bloomberg previously quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the Biden administration is trying to lobby Democratic senators to avoid the passage of the bill. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said in a statement that the bill contradicts the U.S. government’s long-standing “one China” policy.
David Smith, an associate professor at the Center for American Studies at the University of Sydney in Australia, told Bloomberg that if Congress passes the Taiwan Policy Act, the chances of conflict between China and the United States will greatly increase. At that time, people will begin to wonder what is actually left of the current US policy on Taiwan.
In the words of Denny Roy, a senior researcher at the East-West Center, a congressional research organization. Right now, he said, the U.S. Congress is making a “dramatic gesture” where lawmakers from both parties are “using Taiwan to flaunt morality without considering the adverse effects on other U.S. interests.”
Prior to this, on the evening of August 2, despite the strong opposition from the Chinese side, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, insisted on visiting Taiwan, China. This makes her the second highest-ranking U.S. official to come to Taiwan since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan in 1997.
The Biden administration has been trying to “personalize” Pelosi’s behavior in an attempt to cut him off. The Chinese side expressed severe condemnation immediately and took a number of countermeasures, including organizing live-fire drills and announcing “3 cancellations and 5 suspensions.”
The Biden (left) administration has been “personalizing” Pelosi’s (right) actions. AP picture
Blinken and others took this to accuse China of “threatening the world” by suspending exchanges with the US on climate issues. In this regard, Bloomberg bluntly stated that the above-mentioned “disharmonious” move by the US Congress not only increases the risk of miscalculation, but may also disrupt the wider relationship between the world’s largest economies (ie, China and the United States), including the relationship between China and the United States. Negotiations on tariffs, climate change, defense and more.