Yesterday, the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package on emergency appropriations for the Indo-Pacific region, including provisions to “divest or ban” TikTok. Today, President Biden signed the bill into law.

 

The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a grassroots non-profit that promotes freedom, human rights, and democracy for the people of Taiwan, issued the following statement:

 

Since our establishment in 1982, FAPA has worked closely with both houses of Congress to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and independence, among other issues supporting Taiwan.

 

We are, therefore, eternally grateful to Congress and President Biden for their strong commitment to keeping Taiwan free, sovereign, and independent amid Beijing’s relentless bullying and for confronting China’s unfounded territorial claims over Taiwan.

 

On April 23, the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that includes provisions to fund military aid to Taiwan. The House passed its companion bill last Saturday. FAPA believes that providing Taiwan with the wherewithal to defend itself is critical to deterring Beijing’s aggression and protecting Taiwan’s sovereignty and independence.

 

The bill now unlocks $1.9 billion to provide Taiwan with defensive arms, allowing the Pentagon to expedite weapons by drawing down from existing U.S. stockpiles. This bill will give Taiwan an additional $2 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Congress previously approved $300 million in FMF for Taiwan in March as part of the State Department’s FY24 spending bill.

 

Additionally, we commend the Senate’s and the President’s decision to support legislation banning TikTok in the U.S. unless its parent company, the Chinese Communist Party-controlled ByteDance, sells the TikTok app. This gesture is reassuring to our community: we believe in the need for a policy that allows America to balance the ability to safeguard freedom of information while shielding itself against malicious operations against our national interests.

 

Unlike the previous iteration of the bill passed in the House in March, the new version of the TikTok “divest-or-ban” bill addressed concerns from some Senate members by extending the deadline for TikTok to find a buyer from six months to one year. The Senate version of this new bill also allows the President to grant a further 90-day grace period for the divestment.

 

As Taiwanese Americans, we care deeply about our home country. We are worried about China’s increasingly bellicose behavior toward Taiwan and concerned that TikTok could become a medium for Beijing’s propaganda during a Chinese invasion. In a Senate hearing last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray affirmed that TikTok would allow Beijing widespread control over information in the event of a Chinese invasion, manipulating public perceptions of its actions.

 

Regarding provisions on “divest-or-ban” TikTok, FAPA Executive Director Chiao-Yun Anny Hsiao noted, “We should be cognizant of the threats that TikTok, in its current form, imposes on our national security. The Chinese Communist Party can capitalize on data from American users, and information that young Americans consume is manipulated in some way to favor Beijing’s propaganda. We welcome Congress’s and the President’s support for the divestment and look forward to building a safer information space for all Americans.”

 

Referring to the military aid package to Taiwan, Hsiao remarked, “We Taiwanese Americans wholeheartedly welcome and thank both houses of Congress and the President for their willingness to invest in American capabilities to ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. As a key partner of the United States in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan must remain free, sovereign, and independent.”

 

“It is highly encouraging that the U.S. seems to be moving toward a policy of ‘strategic clarity’ each day. We should not give the Beijing leadership any doubt that the U.S. is Taiwan’s first and foremost ally and that it will come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack and/or blockade. The decades-old policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ has worn out its welcome,” Hsiao added. “It is time to relegate the Cold War relic that is ‘strategic ambiguity’ to the ash heap of history!”

 

END

 

 

 

美國參議院昨日通過了一項針對印太地區的緊急撥款外援方案，實施總額 950 億美元，其中更是要求 TikTok「不出售就禁止」。美國總統拜登今日正式簽署通過該法案。

 

針對該方案，捍衛台灣人民自由、人權和民主的草根非營利組織台灣人公共事務會（FAPA）發表了以下聲明：

 

自1982 年成立以來，FAPA長期和美國眾議院與參議院密切合作，維持台灣的主權與獨立，同時推廣相關挺台議題。

 

面臨北京不斷地挑釁以及中共無理的領土主張，美國國會和拜登總統依舊致力於維護台灣的自由、主權和獨立。對此，我們由衷感謝。

 

4 月23 日，參議院以壓倒性票數通過法案，其中大幅度提升對台軍援。眾議院在上週六也通過了相應的法案。FAPA 相信協助台灣強化自我防衛能力，對於嚇阻北京的威脅與捍衛台灣的主權和獨立至關重要。

 

法案實施後，美國將動用 19 億美元提供台灣防禦性武器。屆時，美國國防部便能從現有武器庫存中加速提供軍備給台灣。該法案確保美國對台灣的對外軍事融資 (英語：Foreign Military Financing) 比原先增加了 20 億美元。今年三月，美國國會在 2024 年度預算審核中，針對台灣通過了 3 億美元的對外軍事融資。

 

同時，FAPA 也肯定參議院和拜登總統對於TikTok「不出售就禁止」條款的支持。法案除了對台軍援，更要求由中共控制的公司字節跳動（ByteDance）出售其軟體 TikTok，否則將在美國對 TikTok 實施禁令。此舉讓台裔美國人感到相當欣慰，因為我們深信美國在確保資訊自由的同時，也必須防範惡勢力損害美國國家利益，而這兩個目標需要透過相應的政策架構才能達成。

 

與去年三月眾議院通過的法案不同，新版本的 TikTok「不出售就禁止」法案採納了部份參議員的擔憂，將 TikTok 尋找買主的截止期限從六個月延長到一年。新法案的參議院版本進一步允許總統再給予 90 天的寬限期。

 

身為台美人，我們對家鄉深感關切。我們擔心中國對台灣日益頻繁的文攻武嚇，同時也擔心 TikTok 在中共犯台時可能成為北京政治大外宣的媒介。在去年的一場參議院聽證會上，美國聯邦調查局局長克里斯多福·瑞伊（Christopher Wray）坦言， TikTok 會於中共入侵台灣時，有利於北京取得廣泛資訊控制，操縱大眾對其行為的看法。

 

有關 TikTok「不出售就禁止」的條款，FAPA 執行長蕭喬勻指出：「我們應該意識到 TikTok對國安的威脅。中共可以利用美國用戶的數據，操縱美國年輕人所接觸到的資訊，在某種程度上促進北京的政治宣傳。我們樂見國會和總統對該法案的支持，並期待國會為所有美國人建立一個更安全的資訊空間。」

 

關於對台灣的軍事援助，蕭執行長表示：「台裔美國人熱烈歡迎並感謝國會兩院與拜登總統願意投資美國的能力，以確保台海的和平與穩定。台灣作為美國在印太地區的重要合作夥伴，自由、主權與獨立不容妥協。」

 

蕭執行長補充道：「美國每天似乎都在朝著『戰略清晰』的政策方向邁進，讓我們感到非常鼓舞。我們應明確地讓北京高層知道，美國是台灣的首要盟友，絕對不會默許中共犯台或封鎖台灣。『戰略模糊』這個幾十年來的老舊政策已不再是主流，是時候讓這個冷戰時期的遺念走入歷史了！」