TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four U.S. members of Congress signed a letter on Monday (May 13) urging Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to establish sister city relations with Taipei.
John Moolenaar, Chair of the Select Committee on China, along with Representative Andy Barr, and Senators Marco Rubio and Pete Ricketts penned a letter calling on Bowser to set up sister city ties with Taipei based on its key role in U.S.-Taiwan relations and the large Taiwanese American community in the city. They noted that Taiwanese Americans are heavily engaged with the local community and play a significant part in the city's annual Lunar New Year parade.
The lawmakers pointed out that April 10 marked the 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, saying ties between the countries have “never been stronger” and expressed optimism that relations would continue to strengthen. They argued that a sister-city relationship between the two capitals is an important expression of U.S. support for Taiwan, “Far too often, our Taiwanese friends have been left isolated on the international stage.”
Although largely symbolic, the legislators said that establishing such ties will demonstrate that the U.S. and Washington, D.C. people “stand shoulder-to-shoulder” with those of Taiwan. They emphasized, "It will send a clear message that we will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to dictate who we call our friends.”
The members of Congress said that although there may be objections by some members of the international community to the establishment of such capital-to-capital ties, the U.S. should not permit the “threat of verbal retaliation and rebuke to dictate our actions.” They asserted that letting fear of protests from other nations shape U.S. policy would only reinforce the use of intimidation to influence Washington.
