Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany believes it's time to recognize Taiwan as an independent state, so he has introduced legislation that would eliminate the "One China" policy the U.S. has maintained for years and formally recognize Taiwan.
“The world has undergone dramatic changes since the days of Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, and it's time that U.S. policy reflected that fact," Tiffany said in a statement released on his website. "Taiwan is a free, democratic and independent country – one that has never been under the control of the People’s Republic of China or part of its territory. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply a lie.”
President Jimmy Carter cut formal ties with Taiwan in 1979, recognizing the People's Republic of China as the one and only China, and the U.S. has maintained the "One China" policy ever since, Tiffany's statement read.
On Jan. 25, Tiffany introduced H.Con. Res. 10 in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a resolution which expresses "the sense of Congress that the United States should resume normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement with Taiwan and support Taiwan's membership in international organizations," according to Congress.gov. The measure had 18 co-sponsors when it was presented, Congressional data stated.
Attempts have been made to continue a relationship by introducing legislation such as the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, after formal ties were cut, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The legislation was designed to help maintain peace, security and stability in the Western Pacific and to "promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural and other relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan, and for other purposes," the AIT reported.
The Taiwan Relations Act has been used as the basis for formal relations with Taiwan since 1979, but those relations are not on an equal level with China, AIT stated.
Tiffany was elected to the House in 2020. He is a sitting member of the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on the Judiciary. He is also a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, his website stated.