TRADE RECOMMENDATION: A Congress task force said that Taiwan is a ‘bona fide’ democracy, a ‘de facto’ sovereign nation and critical in global opposition to the CCP

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 02, 2020
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US lawmakers after a congressional task force published a report suggesting that the US government initiate trade negotiations with Taiwan and pass legislation to boost bilateral relations as soon as possible.

Taiwan would continue efforts to deepen ties with the US, the ministry said, after the US House of Representatives’ China Task Force on Wednesday published a report that highlighted threats that Beijing poses to the US.

“Taiwan is a bona fide democracy and a de facto sovereign nation, and US security ally,” the report said. “Taiwan is a critical focal point in the free world’s confrontation with the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], and under a more direct threat of CCP armed aggression than any other US partner.”

“The [US] administration should allow Taiwan to change the name of its diplomatic office to the ‘Taiwan Representative Office’ or a similar title,” it said. “Taiwan’s primary diplomatic organization inside the US is currently called the ‘Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office,’ an anachronistic title that does not reflect the fact that the US enjoys broad, substantial relations with all of Taiwan, not just its capital city.”    [FULL  STORY]