By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-10 01:51:07 | Updated at 2025-03-10 08:05:30
6 hours ago
‘Taiwan’s inclusion would enhance the IMF’s mission and promote stability and prosperity,’ Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) says.
A bill calling for Taiwan’s accession to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), dubbed the “Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act,” was passed by a unanimous 48–0 vote by the House Financial Services Committee on March 5.
The bill, first introduced to the committee by Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Texas) on Feb. 5, seeks to ensure that the U.S. actively promotes Taiwan’s admission to the International Monetary Fund amid China’s ongoing “lack of cooperation.”
The bill will now proceed to be debated by the House of Representatives before it is potentially put up for a vote by the full chamber.
China’s ruling communist party (CCP) views Taiwan as its own territory to be taken by force from the Republic of China’s government if necessary. To pressure the self-ruled democracy to accept CCP rule, the regime has tried to isolate Taiwan on the international stage and bar its inclusion in international organizations.
Speaking on the topic, Kim pointed out that Taiwan is among America’s top 10 trading partners, and called for its inclusion in “economic monitoring activities,” that its citizens have access to “equal employment opportunities,” and are given “appropriate technical assistance.”
“It is absurd for the institution to exclude an economic powerhouse like Taiwan,” Kim told the House. Kim also noted that Taiwan’s forex reserves are “greater than Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, or any European country except Switzerland.”
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“So why wouldn’t we want its experiences to inform the work of the IMF at a time when China has been threatening the work of the IMF through its non-transparent lending abroad and its lack of cooperation with other creditors?” she asked.
Kim said Taiwan’s admission to the IMF could allow it access to other international financial alliances, such as the World and Inter-American Development Banks.
Green said he and Kim expect the bill’s success, ultimately. He noted that the island territory “deserved to join the IMF” because its liberal democracy and economy contribute to international growth.
“Taiwan’s inclusion would enhance the IMF’s mission and promote stability and prosperity, embodying the values we uphold as we advocate for democratic principles worldwide,” he said in a March 5 statement.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) speaks during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 11, 2020. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
This marks Kim’s second advocacy for Taiwan’s representation on the global stage through legislation.
In March 2021, Congress’s Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill introduced by Kim calling for the State Department to help restore Taiwan to its observer status at the World Health Organization.
It became law on May 13, 2022, when President Joe Biden signed it.
Speaking on the legislative victory, Kim told the House that support for Taiwan was at a vital juncture given the CCP’s threats to invade the self-governing state and in the context of the then months-old Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Taiwan has proven time and time again to be a trusted ally of the United States and a world leader in global health security, and today we can officially send a united message that the United States values Taiwan’s input and will work to give them a seat at the table,” Kim said.
America’s efforts to get Taiwan a place in global organizations predate Kim’s successes in the sphere.
During his first term, President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act into law in 2020.
The preceding bill, a bipartisan effort, was originally introduced to the House in 2018 by then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), along with Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
The warrant for the legislation, Markey’s office said, was that China was bullying Taiwan’s allies into breaking diplomatic ties with the self-ruling island state.
The act requires U.S. official mechanisms to encourage countries to “support Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition” or bolster “unofficial ties with Taiwan.”
The legislation further notes that America and its representatives are permitted to relegate relations with any sovereignty that takes adverse actions toward Taiwan.
In February, the State Department updated its fact sheet on Taiwan by removing a statement telegraphing its explicit rejection of Taiwan’s independence: “We do not support Taiwan independence.”
The webpage, updated on Feb. 13, stated: “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.”
