TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Taiwanese lobbyist group Taiwan Watch is seeking crowdfunding to finance an advertisement in The Hill supporting a congressional bill clarifying the U.S. "one China" policy.

Taiwan Watch (美國國會台灣觀測站) is running a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to mark the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and to call for the passage of a bill which declares that the U.S. "one China" policy is not equivalent to the "one China" principle, touted by Beijing.

On March 31, U.S. Representative Steve Chabot submitted H.Res.248, which represents an effort to clarify the U.S. "one China" policy, with regard to Taiwan's political situation. The resolution states that the United States recognizes, but does not endorse China’s "one China" principle. More significant, is the resolution’s declaration that the U.S. does not endorse Beijing's view that “Taiwan is a part of China.”

The resolution notes that the vast majority of Taiwanese citizens do not support Beijing's "one China" principle or its proposal of "one country, two systems."

Preview of the ad. (Image from Taiwan Watch GoFundMe page)

On its Facebook page, Taiwan Watch said that it plans to publish a full-page advertisement in the Washington Times on April 10 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and appeal for the signing of H.Res.248.

Taiwan Watch wrote that the reason for launching the fund-raising campaign was that the current draft of the bill was only proposed in the House of Representative and a Senate version has yet to be drafted. Therefore, it plans to use advertisements in the U.S. media to arouse the attention of American lawmakers and "publicize Taiwan."

The organization has already reached its goal of US$5,000 for a full-page ad in the Washington Times and it has now set its sights on The Hill. The group has started the second phase of its funding campaign to raise US$15,000 to cover the cost of an identical full-page advertisement in The Hill, the largest publication on Capitol Hill.