II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 481 

To impose sanctions to deter aggression by the People’s Republic of China 

against Taiwan, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 

Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To impose sanctions to deter aggression by the People’s 

Republic of China against Taiwan, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Deterring Communist 

5 Chinese Aggression against Taiwan through Financial 

6 Sanctions Act of 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 

9 (1) Taiwan is a self-governing polity with all 

10 the attributes of a constitutional democratic republic 


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1 and consistently achieves exceedingly high scores 

2 from Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index. 

3 (2) Taiwan practices and enshrines in law a 

4 free market and entrepreneurial economy and con5 sistently achieves exceedingly high scores in the Her6 itage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. 

7 (3) Taiwan’s government and political culture 

8 cherish individual rights and the protection of ethnic 

9 minorities, and do so through respect for the rule of 

10 law. 

11 (4) Taiwan’s democracy, free market economy, 

12 and cultural, industrial, and scientific achievements 

13 have made it a model for the world as it contributes 

14 greatly to the peace, prosperity, and well-being of 

15 the United States and all other countries that trade 

16 and cooperate with Taiwan despite the constraints 

17 on trade and cooperation resulting from the threats 

18 and intimidation by the Communist Party of China 

19 against countries that seek relations with Taiwan. 

20 (5) Section 2(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act 

21 (22 U.S.C. 3301(b)) asserts that it is the policy of 

22 the United States— 

23 (A) ‘‘to declare that peace and stability in 

24 the area are in the political, security, and ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S481.IS S481

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1 nomic interests of the United States, and are 

2 matters of international concern’’; 

3 (B) ‘‘to make clear that the United States 

4 decision to establish diplomatic relations with 

5 the People’s Republic of China rests upon the 

6 expectation that the future of Taiwan will be 

7 determined by peaceful means’’; 

8 (C) ‘‘to consider any effort to determine 

9 the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful 

10 means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a 

11 threat to the peace and security of the Western 

12 Pacific area and of grave concern to the United 

13 States’’; and 

14 (D) ‘‘to maintain the capacity of the 

15 United States to resist any resort to force or 

16 other forms of coercion that would jeopardize 

17 the security, or the social or economic system, 

18 of the people on Taiwan’’. 

19 (6) The Chinese Communist Party, especially 

20 under the leadership of General Secretary Xi 

21 Jinping, threatens Taiwan in terms of national secu22 rity, trade, and its relationships with countries and 

23 international organizations. 

24 (7) Such threats are designed to intimidate Tai25 wan into submission to Communist Party rule and 


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1 to cause other countries and international organiza2 tions to shun Taiwan and cut off relations with it. 

3 (8) General Secretary Xi and the Communist 

4 Party have made clear their intention to take Tai5 wan by force if they so choose, and they demonstrate 

6 that intention with increased provocative and dan7 gerous actions threatening the peace against Taiwan 

8 in the Taiwan Straits. 

9 (9) Supporting Taiwan’s defense against such 

10 increasingly imminent threats is a vital interest of 

11 the United States for the sake of the national secu12 rity of the United States and allies of the United 

13 States in the region, and the preservation of democ14 racy, free market economics, and the rules and 

15 norms of the international order. 

16 (10) The peace and stability of the entire Pa17 cific region and the countries in that region require 

18 that Taiwan not be subjected to the rule of the Com19 munist Party of China. 

20 (11) The credibility of the avowal of the United 

21 States to defend the principles of the United States 

22 and the principles the international order is built 

23 upon require a policy that can and will deter and 

24 thwart any attempt by the Communist Party of 

25 China to dominate Taiwan by coercion. 


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1 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States to sever all finan3 cial transactions between the United States and the Peo4 ple’s Republic of China, including any and all public or 

5 private entities in the People’s Republic of China, if the 

6 Government of the People’s Republic of China or any 

7 forces subject to the control of that Government— 

8 (1) engage in armed aggression against Taiwan; 

9 (2) invade the territory of Taiwan, including 

10 the mainland of Taiwan and any territories under its 

11 control, without regard to whether those territories 

12 are inhabited or not; 

13 (3) blockade by sea or air the mainland of Tai14 wan or territories under its control; or 

15 (4) attempt to change the status of Taiwan or 

16 its government by force or coercive actions. 

17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

23 and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Fi24 nance of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Financial Services 

2 and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 (2) CHINESE MILITARY COMPANY.—The term 

5 ‘‘Chinese military company’’ means an entity on the 

6 most recent list required to be submitted under sec7 tion 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

8 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

9 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 10 U.S.C. 113 note). 

10 (3) CHINESE PERSON.—The term ‘‘Chinese 

11 person’’ means— 

12 (A) an individual who is a citizen or na13 tional of the People’s Republic of China; or 

14 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

15 the People’s Republic of China or otherwise 

16 subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of 

17 the People’s Republic of China. 

18 (4) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi19 nancial institution’’ means a financial institution 

20 specified in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), 

21 (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (K), (M), (N), (P), (R), (T), 

22 (Y), or (Z) of section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United 

23 States Code. 

24 (5) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

25 term ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning 


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1 given that term in section 1010.605 of title 31, Code 

2 of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar 

3 regulation or ruling). 

4 (6) ISSUER; SECURITY.—The terms ‘‘issuer’’ 

5 and ‘‘security’’ have the meanings given those terms 

6 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

7 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c). 

8 (7) NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE.—The 

9 term ‘‘national securities exchange’’ means an ex10 change registered as a national securities exchange 

11 in accordance with section 6 of the Securities Ex12 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f). 

13 (8) TRIGGERING EVENT.—The term ‘‘triggering 

14 event’’ means any attempt by the Government of the 

15 People’s Republic of China or any forces subject to 

16 the control of that Government to subject Taiwan to 

17 the control of the People’s Republic of China, includ18 ing though any of the following acts: 

19 (A) Engaging in armed aggression against 

20 Taiwan. 

21 (B) Invading the territory of Taiwan, in22 cluding the mainland of Taiwan and any terri23 tories under its control, without regard to 

24 whether those territories are inhabited or not. 


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1 (C) Blockading by sea or air the mainland 

2 of Taiwan or territories under its control. 

3 (D) Attempting to change the status of 

4 Taiwan or its government by force or coercive 

5 actions. 

6 (9) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

7 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

8 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law9 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

10 United States; 

11 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

12 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

13 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

14 such an entity; or 

15 (C) any person in the United States. 

16 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CHI17 NESE PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR AGGRES18 SION AGAINST TAIWAN. 

19 (a) INITIAL IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—On and 

20 after the date that is 30 days after a triggering event, 

21 the President shall impose the sanctions described in sub22 section (b) with respect to any Chinese person, including 

23 any senior official of the Government of the People’s Re24 public of China, that the President determines participates 

25 in a triggering event. 


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1 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions to be 

2 imposed with respect to a person described in subsection 

3 (a) are the following: 

4 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ex6 ercise all of the powers granted by the Inter7 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

8 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to block and prohibit all 

9 transactions in all property and interests in 

10 property of the person if such property and in11 terests in property are in the United States, 

12 come within the United States, or come within 

13 the possession or control of a United States 

14 person. 

15 (B) INAPPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL EMER16 GENCY REQUIREMENT.—The requirements of 

17 section 202 of the International Emergency 

18 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall 

19 not apply for purposes of subparagraph (A). 

20 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

21 PAROLE.— 

22 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—In 

23 the case of an alien, the alien shall be— 

24 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 


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1 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

2 documentation to enter the United States; 

3 and 

4 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

5 or paroled into the United States or to re6 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

11 in subparagraph (A) shall be subject to 

12 revocation of any visa or other entry docu13 mentation regardless of when the visa or 

14 other entry documentation is or was 

15 issued. 

16 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca17 tion under clause (i) shall— 

18 (I) take effect immediately; and 

19 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 

20 entry documentation that is in the 

21 alien’s possession. 

22 (3) EXCLUSION OF CORPORATE OFFICERS.— 

23 The President shall direct the Secretary of State to 

24 deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Secu25 rity to exclude from the United States, any alien 


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1 that the President determines is a corporate officer 

2 or principal of, or a shareholder with a controlling 

3 interest in, the person. 

4 (4) EXPORT SANCTION.—The President may 

5 order the United States Government not to issue 

6 any specific license and not to grant any other spe7 cific permission or authority to export any goods or 

8 technology to the person under— 

9 (A) the Export Control Reform Act of 

10 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.); or 

11 (B) any other statute that requires the 

12 prior review and approval of the United States 

13 Government as a condition for the export or re14 export of goods or services. 

15 (5) INCLUSION ON ENTITY LIST.—The Presi16 dent shall include the entity on the entity list main17 tained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of 

18 the Department of Commerce and set forth in Sup19 plement No. 4 to part 744 of the Export Adminis20 tration Regulations, for activities contrary to the na21 tional security or foreign policy interests of the 

22 United States. 

23 (6) BAN ON INVESTMENT IN EQUITY OR DEBT

24 OF SANCTIONED PERSON.—The President shall, pur25 suant to such regulations or guidelines as the PresiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S481.IS S481

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1 dent may prescribe, prohibit any United States per2 son from investing in or purchasing equity or debt 

3 instruments of the person. 

4 (7) BANKING TRANSACTIONS.—The President 

5 shall, pursuant to such regulations as the President 

6 may prescribe, prohibit any transfers of credit or 

7 payments between financial institutions or by, 

8 through, or to any financial institution, to the extent 

9 that such transfers or payments are subject to the 

10 jurisdiction of the United States and involve any in11 terest of the person. 

12 (8) CORRESPONDENT AND PAYABLE-THROUGH

13 ACCOUNTS.—In the case of a foreign financial insti14 tution, the President may prohibit the opening, and 

15 prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintain16 ing, in the United States of a correspondent account 

17 or a payable-through account by the foreign finan18 cial institution. 

19 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

20 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE, LAW EN21 FORCEMENT, AND NATIONAL SECURITY ACTIVI22 TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 

23 to any authorized intelligence, law enforcement, or 

24 national security activities of the United States. 


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1 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH UNITED NATIONS HEAD2 QUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

3 subsection (b) shall not apply with respect to the ad4 mission of an alien to the United States if such ad5 mission is necessary to permit the United States to 

6 comply with the Agreement regarding the Head7 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc8 cess, June 26, 1947, and entered into force, Novem9 ber 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 

10 United States. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY13 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

14 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac15 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec16 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 

17 (2) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 

18 ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the 

19 meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 

20 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

21 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON LISTING OF CHINESE ENTITIES 

22 ON UNITED STATES SECURITIES EXCHANGES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Securities and Exchange 

24 Commission shall prohibit the securities of an issuer de25 scribed in subsection (b) from being traded on a national 


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1 securities exchange on or after the date that is 60 days 

2 after a triggering event. 

3 (b) ISSUERS DESCRIBED.—An issuer described in 

4 this subsection is an issuer that is— 

5 (1) a Chinese person; 

6 (2) owned or controlled by a Chinese person; or 

7 (3) a successor entity to a person described in 

8 paragraph (1) or (2). 

9 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS IN SECURITIES 

10 OF CHINESE MILITARY COMPANIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 60 

12 days after a triggering event, any transaction by any 

13 United States person or within the United States in any 

14 security of an issuer described in subsection (b), or any 

15 instrument that is derivative of or designed to provide in16 vestment exposure to any such security, is prohibited. 

17 (b) ISSUERS DESCRIBED.—An issuer described in 

18 this subsection (b) is an issuer that is— 

19 (1) a Chinese military company; 

20 (2) owned or controlled by a Chinese military 

21 company; or 

22 (3) a successor entity to a Chinese military 

23 company. 


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1 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS WITH CERTAIN 

2 CHINESE SOFTWARE COMPANIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 30 

4 days after a triggering event, any transaction by a United 

5 States person or within the United States with any person 

6 described in subsection (b) is prohibited. 

7 (b) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person described in 

8 this subsection is a person that— 

9 (1) the Secretary of Commerce determines de10 velops or controls a software application described in 

11 subsection (c); or 

12 (2) is owned or controlled by a person described 

13 in paragraph (1). 

14 (c) SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS SPECIFIED.—A soft15 ware application described in this subsection is any of the 

16 following: 

17 (1) Alipay. 

18 (2) CamScanner. 

19 (3) QQ Wallet. 

20 (4) SHAREit. 

21 (5) Tencent QQ. 

22 (6) VMate. 

23 (7) WeChat Pay. 

24 (8) WPS Office. 

25 (9) Any other connected software application— 


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1 (A) providing digital e-wallet platforms or 

2 digital financial messaging systems; 

3 (B) developed or operated by a Chinese 

4 person; and 

5 (C) determined by the Secretary of Com6 merce to pose an unacceptable risk to the na7 tional security, foreign policy, or economy of the 

8 United States. 

9 (d) CONNECTED SOFTWARE APPLICATION DE10 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘connected software ap11 plication’’ means software, a software program, or group 

12 of software programs, designed— 

13 (1) to be used by an end user on an end-point 

14 computing device and to collect, process, or transmit 

15 data via the internet as an integral part of its 

16 functionality; or 

17 (2) to facilitate international financial trans18 actions, digital e-wallet services, digital currency 

19 transactions, mobile payments, or international fi20 nancial messaging services. 

21 SEC. 9. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

22 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MESSAGING SYS23 TEMS. 

24 If, on or after the date that is 60 days after the trig25 gering action, a global financial communications services 


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1 provider has not terminated the provision of financial com2 munications services to, and the enabling and facilitation 

3 of access to such services for, the Central Bank of China 

4 and any foreign financial institution subject to sanctions 

5 under this Act, the President shall impose sanctions pur6 suant to the International Emergency Economic Powers 

7 Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to the financial 

8 communications services provider and the directors of, and 

9 shareholders with a significant interest in, the provider. 

10 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO 

11 DIGITAL CURRENCY ISSUED BY THE PEO12 PLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

13 Any transaction by a United States person or within 

14 the United States related to, providing financing for, and 

15 otherwise dealing in, any digital currency, digital coin, or 

16 digital token, that was issued by, for, or on behalf of the 

17 Government of the People’s Republic of China on or after 

18 the date that is 30 days after a triggering event, is prohib19 ited. 

20 SEC. 11. IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES. 

21 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall exercise 

22 all authorities provided to the President under sections 

23 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

24 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this 

25 Act. 


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1 (b) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, attempts to 

2 violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 

3 Act or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out 

4 this Act shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub5 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 

6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the 

7 same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act de8 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

9 SEC. 12. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 

10 GOODS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The authority or a requirement 

12 to impose sanctions or a prohibition under this Act shall 

13 not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanc14 tions or a prohibition on the importation of goods. 

15 (b) GOOD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or manmade substance, 

17 material, supply, or manufactured product, including in18 spection and test equipment, and excluding technical data. 

Æ 


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