TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US House Foreign Affairs Committee majority on Friday marked the 47th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) with a post on X emphasizing the law's role in safeguarding US-Taiwan security interests.

Then-President Jimmy Carter signed the TRA into law on April 10, 1979. It took effect retroactively from Jan. 1, 1979, to maintain US-Taiwan relations after Washington severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in December 1978 and established relations with Beijing on Jan. 1, 1979.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee majority said the TRA “ensured Taiwan's security and bolstered US interests in the Indo-Pacific” for nearly 50 years. The law “still stands today as a bulwark against Chinese Communist Party aggression,” it added.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) wrote on Facebook that the TRA reflects the shared values of freedom and human rights and is a cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. It is also proof of the deepening friendship between Taiwan and the US, he said.

Forty-seven years later, Taiwan is now widely recognized around the world as a beacon of democracy, with a free and diverse society, Lai said. Support within the US Congress for Taiwan's security and well-being has become bipartisan, he said.

The president said this was because the world understands that safeguarding Taiwan means protecting a defender of democracy. Lai urged the Legislative Yuan to pass the defense budget and show the world that Taiwan has the determination and ability to protect its freedom.