Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Support Taiwan Against Chinese Regime’s Coercion

‘This bill pushes back on Beijing’s inclination to bully smaller countries and limit Taiwan’s global network of partners,’ Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said.

Taiwanese and U.S. flags displayed at a meeting between U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Su Chia-chyuan, president of the Legislative Yuan, in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 27, 2018. Tyrone Siu/Reuters

A bipartisan group of House members and senators has introduced legislation to counter the Chinese communist regime’s continued efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international arena.

The legislation, called the Taiwan Allies Fund Act (H.R.2559), was introduced in the House by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, on April 1.

The companion version of the legislation (S.1216) was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), John Curtis (R-Utah), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.).

“The CCP’s decades-long campaign to isolate Taiwan jeopardizes our national security and plays into dictators’ desires to control democratic nations’ actions,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

“This bill pushes back on Beijing’s inclination to bully smaller countries and limit Taiwan’s global network of partners. It is essential to ensuring peace and stability not only in the Indo–Pacific but across the globe.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been intensifying its campaigns to isolate Taiwan diplomatically since 2016. At present, Taiwan has 12 diplomatic allies—including Eswatini, Haiti, Guatemala, and the Vatican—after countries such as Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru chose to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

The legislation would authorize $120 million in appropriations for three fiscal years beginning in 2026 to provide foreign assistance to Taiwan’s official and unofficial partners that face coercion or pressure from the Chinese regime.

Recipient countries could use the money for various purposes, such as supporting health initiatives; building the capacity and resilience of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations to counter the CCP’s influence; diversifying supply chains away from China; and advancing Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, according to the bill.

Due to Beijing’s objection, Taiwan is currently excluded from several United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The CCP views Taiwan as a “renegade province” that must be united with the mainland, even with the use of military force. Thus, Beijing believes it can rightfully represent Taiwan’s 23 million people in the United Nations and international organizations.

Krishnamoorthi introduced the legislation alongside several colleagues, including Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Taiwan Caucus cochairs Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

“The Chinese Communist Party has waged an unrelenting campaign to isolate Taiwan, using economic blackmail and military intimidation to pressure nations into abandoning their ties,” Moolenaar said in a statement.

“By reintroducing this legislation, we are standing up to Beijing’s authoritarian expansion, strengthening Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, and ensuring its partners have the support they need to resist CCP pressure.

“The United States must confront the CCP’s aggression head-on and make clear that we stand with Taiwan and those who defend their freedoms.”

The legislation was introduced in the House in May 2024, but it ultimately did not receive a vote.

On April 1, China launched another round of large-scale military drills around Taiwan, deploying navy, air, ground, and rocket forces.

In a statement on social media platform X, the Select Committee on the CCP said that it was “deeply alarmed” by what it called an “unmistakable act of intimidation designed to bully a free and democratic people.”

“This escalation is yet another example of the CCP’s growing aggression and underscores the urgent need to ensure our democratic partner has the means and support to defend itself,” it said in a post on social media platform X.