US Senate passes bill banning maps depicting Taiwan as a part of China

March 11, 2022

An amendment attached to an appropriations bill that has been passed by the U.S. Senate prohibits the creation or use of maps that depict Taiwan as a part of China by the U.S. State Department.

On March 10, the Senate passed the $1.5 trillion spending bill proposed by the House of Representatives, which had passed the bill the day before.

The nearly 3,000-page bill included an assortment of proposals, including $13.6 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, of which $6.5 billion will be used for military assistance. The other $6.7 billion is allocated to aid the 2.5 million displaced Ukrainians forced to flee their homes after the Russian invasion.

Also included in the bill, called the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022, was an amendment proposed by several Republican representatives, including Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), who introduced it to the House floor.

“Mr. Speaker, my amendment, which is included in this end block would prohibit the use of any funds to create, procure or display any map which depicts Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China,” explained Tiffany. “This is a common sense measure as we all know, Taiwan has never been part of communist China… By every measure, Taiwan is a sovereign, democratic and independent country.”

While China and Taiwan have had separate governments since 1949, marking the end of their civil war, China has continued to claim the island as its territory under its “One country, two systems” policy. In a press conference last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hya Chunying firmly reiterated China’s “One-China’” sentiments by stating that Taiwan would always remain an “inseparable” part of China’s territory. “This,” Hya stated, “is an irrefutable historical and legal fact.”

Tiffany labeled the “One China” policy as “bogus” and “dishonest,” stating that “any claims to the contrary” are “false.”

U.S. ties with Taiwan deepened especially under Donald Trump’s presidency when he took an “unprecedented call” with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen congratulating the then president-elect on his victory.

Trump’s administration also approved of significant arms sales to Taiwan, including the biggest one since 1992 when the administration approved the $8 billion arms package in 2019.

Featured Image via Now This World

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