II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4813 

To support United States policy toward Taiwan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To support United States policy toward Taiwan. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Relations Re5 inforcement Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (Public 

9 Law 96–8) and the Six Assurances, first articulated 

10 by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, are both cor11 nerstones of United States relations with Taiwan, 

12 formally known as the Republic of China (ROC). 


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1 (2) The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and 

2 Taiwan have been ruled without interruption by sep3 arate governments since 1949, and Taiwan has not 

4 been subjected to rule by the PRC at any point since 

5 the PRC was first established in 1949. 

6 (3) The so-called ‘‘One China Policy’’ of the 

7 United States Government is not the same as the 

8 ‘‘One China principle’’ espoused by the People’s Re9 public of China. 

10 (4) Threats and actions by the Government of 

11 the People’s Republic of China to unilaterally deter12 mine Taiwan’s future through non-peaceful means, 

13 including the direct use of force, military coercion, 

14 economic boycotts or embargoes, and efforts to 

15 internationally isolate or annex Taiwan, would un16 dermine stability in the Taiwan Strait and are of 

17 grave concern to the United States Government. 

18 (5) The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 

19 global influence operations and efforts to exert sharp 

20 power have sought to diplomatically undermine the 

21 legitimacy of the democratically elected Government 

22 of Taiwan, intimidate the people of Taiwan, and 

23 force Taiwan’s diplomatic partners to abandon it. 

24 (6) The force modernization program and mili25 tary buildup of the CCP-controlled People’s LiberaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4813.IS S4813

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1 tion Army poses a serious challenge to the balance 

2 of power in the Indo-Pacific region, including the 

3 Taiwan Strait, and to United States national secu4 rity interests as a Pacific power. 

5 (7) Cultural and educational exchanges between 

6 the United States and Taiwan are a key component 

7 of building and strengthening bilateral people-to-peo8 ple ties and provide important, high-quality learning 

9 opportunities for students interested in politics, his10 tory, language, and culture. 

11 (8) Taiwan is an important trading partner for 

12 the United States, representing the 10th largest 

13 market for United States exports in 2019. 

14 (9) April 10, 2020, marked the 41st anniver15 sary of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (Public 

16 Law 96–8). 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the United States Government should 

20 strengthen cooperation with the military of Taiwan 

21 under the framework of the Taiwan Relations Act 

22 (Public Law 96–8) and the Six Assurances with con23 sideration of the ongoing military buildup in China 

24 and the imbalance in the security environment in the 

25 Taiwan Strait; 


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1 (2) the United States Government should urge 

2 Taiwan to increase its own investments in military 

3 capabilities that support implementation of its asym4 metric defense strategy; 

5 (3) the United States Government should pro6 mote dignity and respect for its Taiwanese counter7 parts, who represent more than 23,000,000 citizens, 

8 by using the full range of diplomatic and financial 

9 tools available to promote Taiwan’s inclusion and 

10 meaningful participation in international organiza11 tions as well as in bilateral and multilateral security 

12 summits, military exercises, and economic dialogues 

13 and forums; and 

14 (4) in order to deepen economic ties and ad15 vance the interests of the United States, the United 

16 States Government should prioritize the negotiation 

17 of a free trade agreement with Taiwan that provides 

18 high levels of labor rights and environmental protec19 tion as soon as possible. 

20 SEC. 4. A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY PARTNERSHIP WITH 

21 TAIWAN. 

22 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

23 United States to create and execute a plan for enhancing 

24 its relationship with Taiwan by forming a robust partner25 ship that meets the challenges of the 21st century, fully 


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1 accounts for Taiwan’s democratization, and remains faith2 ful to United States principles and values in keeping with 

3 the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. 

4 (b) INTERAGENCY TAIWAN POLICY TASK FORCE.— 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the President shall create an interagency Tai7 wan policy task force consisting of senior officials from 

8 the Office of the President, the National Security Council, 

9 the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the 

10 Department of the Treasury, the Department of Com11 merce, and the Office of the United States Trade Rep12 resentative. 

13 (c) REPORT.—The interagency Taiwan Policy Task 

14 Force established under subsection (b) shall submit an an15 nual unclassified report with a classified annex to the ap16 propriate congressional committees outlining policy and 

17 actions to be taken to create and execute a plan for en18 hancing our partnership and relations with Taiwan. 

19 SEC. 5. AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN. 

20 The position of Director of the American Institute in 

21 Taiwan’s Taipei office shall be subject to the advice and 

22 consent of the Senate, and effective upon enactment of 

23 this Act shall have the title of Representative. 


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1 SEC. 6. SUPPORTING UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND 

2 EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH TAIWAN. 

3 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

4 United States to support United States educational and 

5 exchange programs with Taiwan, including by authorizing 

6 such sum as may be necessary to promote the study of 

7 Chinese language, culture, history, and politics in Taiwan. 

8 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES-TAI9 WAN CULTURAL EXCHANGE FOUNDATION.—The Sec10 retary of State shall establish a new United States-Taiwan 

11 Cultural Exchange Foundation, an independent nonprofit 

12 dedicated to deepening ties between the future leaders of 

13 Taiwan and the United States. The Foundation shall work 

14 with State and local school districts and educational insti15 tutions to send high school and university students to Tai16 wan to study the Chinese language, culture, history, poli17 tics, and other relevant subjects. 

18 (c) PARTNERING WITH TECRO.—State and local 

19 school districts and educational institutions such as public 

20 universities shall partner with the Taipei Economic and 

21 Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United 

22 States to establish programs to promote an increase in 

23 educational and cultural exchanges. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

26 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4813.IS S4813

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1 port on cooperation between the United States Govern2 ment and the Taiwanese government to create an alter3 native to Confucius Institutes in an effort to promote free4 dom, democracy, universal values, culture, and history in 

5 conjunction with Chinese language education. 

6 SEC. 7. PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN INTERNATIONAL OR7 GANIZATIONS. 

8 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

9 United States to promote Taiwan’s inclusion and mean10 ingful participation in meetings held by international orga11 nizations. 

12 (b) SUPPORT FOR MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION.— 

13 The Permanent Representative of the United States to the 

14 United Nations and other relevant United States officials 

15 should actively support Taiwan’s membership and mean16 ingful participation in international organizations. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

19 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re20 port on China’s efforts at the United Nations and other 

21 international bodies to block Taiwan’s meaningful partici22 pation and inclusion and recommend appropriate re23 sponses to be taken by the United States. 


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1 SEC. 8. INVITATION OF TAIWANESE COUNTERPARTS TO 

2 HIGH-LEVEL BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL 

3 FORUMS AND EXERCISES. 

4 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

5 United States to invite Taiwanese counterparts to partici6 pate in high-level bilateral and multilateral summits, mili7 tary exercises, and economic dialogues and forums. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the United States Government should invite 

11 Taiwan to regional dialogues on issues of mutual 

12 concern; 

13 (2) the United States Government and Tai14 wanese counterparts should resume meetings under 

15 the United States-Taiwan Trade and Investment 

16 Framework Agreement and reach a bilateral free 

17 trade agreement; 

18 (3) the United States Government should invite 

19 Taiwan to participate in bilateral and multilateral 

20 military training exercises; and 

21 (4) the United States Government and Tai22 wanese counterparts should engage in a regular and 

23 routine strategic bilateral dialogue on arms sales in 

24 accordance with Foreign Military Sales mechanisms, 

25 and the United States Government should support 


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1 export licenses for direct commercial sales sup2 porting Taiwan’s indigenous defensive capabilities. 

3 SEC. 9. REPORT ON TAIWAN TRAVEL ACT. 

4 (a) LIST OF HIGH-LEVEL VISITS.—Not later than 

5 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

6 annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall, in ac7 cordance with the Taiwan Travel Act (Public Law 115– 

8 135), submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 a list of high-level officials from the United States Govern10 ment that have traveled to Taiwan and a list of high-level 

11 officials of Taiwan that have entered the United States. 

12 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there14 after, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro15 priate congressional committees a report on implementa16 tion of the Taiwan Travel Act. 

17 SEC. 10. PROHIBITIONS AGAINST UNDERMINING UNITED 

18 STATES POLICY REGARDING TAIWAN. 

19 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the efforts by the 

20 Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and 

21 the Chinese Communist Party to compel private United 

22 States businesses, corporations, and nongovernmental en23 tities to use PRC-mandated language to describe the rela24 tionship between Taiwan and China are an intolerable at25 tempt to enforce political censorship globally and should 


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1 be considered an attack on the fundamental underpinnings 

2 of all democratic and free societies, including the constitu3 tionally protected right to freedom of speech. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the United States Government, in coordination 

6 with United States businesses and nongovernmental enti7 ties, should formulate a code of conduct for interacting 

8 with the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

9 and the Chinese Communist Party and affiliated entities, 

10 the aim of which is— 

11 (1) to counter PRC sharp power operations, 

12 which threaten free speech, academic freedom, and 

13 the normal operations of United States businesses 

14 and nongovernmental entities; and 

15 (2) to counter PRC efforts to censor the way 

16 the world refers to issues deemed sensitive to the 

17 Government of the People’s Republic of China and 

18 Chinese Communist Party leaders, including issues 

19 related to Taiwan, Tibet, the Tiananmen Square 

20 Massacre, and the mass internment of Uyghurs and 

21 other Turkic Muslims, among many other issues. 

22 (c) PROHIBITION ON RECOGNITION OF PRC CLAIMS

23 TO SOVEREIGNTY OVER TAIWAN.— 

24 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

25 Congress that— 


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1 (A) issues related to the sovereignty of 

2 Taiwan are for the people of Taiwan to decide 

3 through the democratic process they have estab4 lished; 

5 (B) the dispute between the People’s Re6 public of China and Taiwan must be resolved 

7 peacefully and with the assent of the people of 

8 Taiwan; 

9 (C) the primary obstacle to peaceful reso10 lution is the authoritarian nature of the PRC 

11 political system under one-party rule of the Chi12 nese Communist Party, which is fundamentally 

13 incompatible with Taiwan’s democracy; and 

14 (D) any attempt to coerce the people of 

15 Taiwan to accept a political arrangement that 

16 would subject them to direct or indirect rule by 

17 the PRC, including a ‘‘one country, two sys18 tems’’ framework, would constitute a grave 

19 challenge to United States security interests in 

20 the region. 

21 (2) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of 

22 the United States to oppose any attempt by the 

23 PRC authorities to unilaterally impose a timetable 

24 or deadline for unification on Taiwan. 


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1 (3) PROHIBITION ON RECOGNITION OF PRC

2 CLAIMS WITHOUT ASSENT OF PEOPLE OF TAIWAN.— 

3 No department or agency of the United States Gov4 ernment may formally or informally recognize PRC 

5 claims to sovereignty over Taiwan without the assent 

6 of the people of Taiwan, as expressed directly 

7 through the democratic process. 

8 (d) STRATEGY TO PROTECT UNITED STATES BUSI9 NESSES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES FROM COER10 CION.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury, and the heads of other relevant Federal agen14 cies, shall submit an unclassified report, with a classified 

15 annex if necessary, to protect United States businesses 

16 and nongovernmental entities from sharp power oper17 ations, including coercion and threats that lead to censor18 ship or self-censorship, or which compel compliance with 

19 political or foreign policy positions of the Government of 

20 the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Com21 munist Party. The strategy shall include the following ele22 ments: 

23 (1) Information on efforts by the Government 

24 of the People’s Republic of China to censor the 

25 websites of United States airlines, hotels, and other 


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1 businesses regarding the relationship between Tai2 wan and the People’s Republic of China. 

3 (2) Information on efforts by the Government 

4 of the People’s Republic of China to target United 

5 States nongovernmental entities through sharp 

6 power operations intended to weaken support for 

7 Taiwan. 

8 (3) Information on United States Government 

9 efforts to counter the threats posed by Chinese 

10 state-sponsored propaganda and disinformation, in11 cluding information on best practices, current suc12 cesses, and existing barriers to responding to this 

13 threat. 

14 (4) Details of any actions undertaken to create 

15 a code of conduct pursuant to subsection (b) and a 

16 timetable for implementation. 

17 SEC. 11. STRATEGY TO RESPOND TO SHARP POWER OPER18 ATIONS TARGETING TAIWAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

21 shall develop and implement a strategy to respond to 

22 sharp power operations and the united front campaign 

23 supported by the Government of the People’s Republic of 

24 China and the Chinese Communist Party that are directed 

25 toward persons or entities in Taiwan. 


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1 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub2 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

3 (1) Development of a response to PRC propa4 ganda and disinformation campaigns and cyber-in5 trusions targeting Taiwan, including— 

6 (A) assistance in building the capacity of 

7 the Taiwan government and private-sector enti8 ties to document and expose propaganda and 

9 disinformation supported by the Government of 

10 the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese 

11 Communist Party, or affiliated entities; 

12 (B) assistance to enhance the Taiwan gov13 ernment’s ability to develop a whole-of-govern14 ment strategy to respond to sharp power oper15 ations, including election interference; and 

16 (C) media training for Taiwan officials and 

17 other Taiwan entities targeted by disinforma18 tion campaigns. 

19 (2) Development of a response to political influ20 ence operations that includes an assessment of the 

21 extent of influence exerted by the Government of the 

22 People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Com23 munist Party in Taiwan on local political parties, fi24 nancial institutions, media organizations, and other 

25 entities. 


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1 (3) Support for exchanges and other technical 

2 assistance to strengthen the Taiwan legal system’s 

3 ability to respond to sharp power operations. 

4 (4) Establishment of a coordinated partnership, 

5 through the Global Cooperation and Training 

6 Framework, with like-minded governments to share 

7 data and best practices with the Government of Tai8 wan on ways to address sharp power operations sup9 ported by the Government of the People’s Republic 

10 of China and the Chinese Communist Party. 

11 SEC. 12. REPORT ON DETERRENCE IN THE TAIWAN STRAIT. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

14 of State and the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 

15 appropriate congressional committees a joint report that 

16 assesses the military posture of Taiwan and the United 

17 States as it specifically pertains to the deterrence of mili18 tary conflict and conflict readiness in the Taiwan Strait. 

19 In light of the changing military balance in the Taiwan 

20 Strait, the report should include analysis of whether cur21 rent Taiwan and United States policies sufficiently deter 

22 efforts to determine the future of Taiwan by other than 

23 peaceful means. 

24 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

4 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

5 of the House of Representatives. 

6 (2) SHARP POWER.—The term ‘‘sharp power’’ 

7 means the coordinated and often concealed applica8 tion of disinformation, media manipulation, eco9 nomic coercion, cyber-intrusions, targeted invest10 ments, and academic censorship that is intended— 

11 (A) to corrupt political and nongovern12 mental institutions and interfere in democratic 

13 elections and encourage self-censorship of views 

14 at odds with those of the Government of the 

15 People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Com16 munist Party; or 

17 (B) to foster attitudes, behavior, decisions, 

18 or outcomes in Taiwan and elsewhere that sup19 port the interests of the Government of the 

20 People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Com21 munist Party. 

Æ 


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