Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) said on Oct. 19, that it is very important for the United States to uphold its values throughout the world.
“It’s very important that the United States stand up for our values around the world. That includes supporting friends like Taiwan; it includes not being confused about the rights of the protesters in Hong Kong,” Maloney told NTD reporter Kitty Wang during an exclusive interview.
Maloney recently wrote an article of his own experience earlier this month, when he and some other members of Congress were denied visas to mainland China because they also planned to visit Taiwan.
He said that after his team refused to cancel the Taiwan stopover, the Chinese officials also demanded him to issue an official statement “endorsing Beijing’s version of the ‘One China policy,’” which considers Taiwan a part of China, despite the island being a de facto country with its own government and military. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty claims, stating it will use force if necessary.
Taiwan deeply appreciated Maloney’s principled stand after China refused to grant members of his delegation visas simply because they were also planning to visit Taiwan, The Wall Street Journal said in an Oct. 14 op-ed titled Beijing Tries To Bully Congress.
“This was visa blackmail, designed to stanch the longstanding tradition of robust U.S. congressional engagement with Taiwan,” Maloney said.
In a move to set the standard in U.S.-China diplomatic relations, the U.S. State Department announced a new regulation last week. It requires Chinese diplomats in the United States to notify the State Department in advance when they meet with local officials or visit educational and research institutions.
“The goal is fairly simple,we’re looking for a fair and reciprocal relationship across the board, diplomatically, economically and in the rest. We’re just asking to be treated, you know this is the golden rule ‘do unto others as you would like them to do,'” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific affairs, David Stilwell said.
Many foreign policy experts support this movement and consider it an important policy change.
“This is a basic principle of diplomatic reciprocity and we’re beginning to enforce it, maybe for the first time ever with China, I find it amazing,” John Lenczowski, Founder and President of the Institute of World Politics told NTD.
Stand up for Democracy and Freedom
Maloney met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Oct. 7, during which Tsai thanked the U.S. Congress for “always le[ading] the charge in supporting Taiwan” with bills and resolutions, according to an Oct. 7 press release.
He had co-sponsored the Taiwan Travel Act, which unanimously passed through Congress in February 2018 intending to encourage high-level diplomatic exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.
He said that he will continue to explore ways to strengthen U.S. support for Taiwan, which he said was both “materially necessary” and “a moral imperative.”
“America must stand up for democracy and freedom in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression and authoritarianism,” Maloney wrote.
“My message to China is clear: ham-handed and obtusely enforced pressure campaigns will only invigorate congressional support for Taiwan,” he said on Oct. 14. “Visa blackmail will get them nowhere.”
Reporting by Kitty Wang.
Lorenz Duchamps and Eva Fu contributed to this report.
