美众议员提挺台立法，定期审视更新美国务院台湾指导方针报告
华盛顿 — 美国众议院外交事务委员会已排定在星期二(2月28日)审议由副主席安·瓦格纳(Ann Wagner)提出的一个涉台立法，这个立法要求国会定期审视并更新美国国务院针对台湾所定的指导方针报告，以进一步巩固美国对台湾的支持。瓦格纳众议员说，她对国务院恢复某些对美台官员接触的自我限制感到关切。
密苏里州共和党联邦众议员瓦格纳上星期五提出《台湾保证落实法》(Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act)，要求修正国会2020年通过的《台湾保证法》(Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020)，更深化并扩大美台之间的关系。
国会当时在《台湾保证法》(Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020)中要求美国国务卿就美台关系的相关规范进行审视并提交报告，“包括名为《与台湾关系指导方针》(Guidelines on Relations with Taiwan)的不定期备忘录及相关文件”，并重新发布这个指导方针给行政当局的部门与机构。
《与台湾关系指导方针》是国务院的内规，其中规范了美国行政当局与没有正式外交关系的台湾政府部门及官员接触的细节和限制，特朗普行政当局后期由时任国务卿的迈克·蓬佩奥(Mike Pompeo)宣布全面解除美国政府的自我设限，但瓦格纳对拜登行政当局上任后在与台湾官方接触时的做法感到关切。
“当拜登行政当局决定重新对美台官员接触的某些限制施加限制时我感到非常关切，这是一个危险的行动，它只会使中国的共产党更加大胆，却弱化了美国对我们盟友台湾的支持。”
瓦格纳在一个声明中说，当国会在2020年通过《台湾保证法》时，国会非常明确地表明，美国必须废除这些针对美台接触的过时和不必要限制。
“在全球不稳定的此时我们必须坚定不移地反对中国的反民主行动。拜登总统繁缛的官僚规定损害了这种立场，也破坏我们与台湾更密切协调的能力。”
瓦格纳说，她很骄傲能提出这个立法来强化国会对美台关系的监督，确保美国对台政策的改变是以深化及强化这个重要关系为目标。
“当俄罗斯在北京及德黑兰残暴独裁者的支持下持续它对乌克兰令人震惊的战争时，美国必须大胆地与它最紧密的朋友和伙伴站在一起。”
瓦格纳说，她提出的《台湾保证落实法》将要求国务院就美国与台湾接触的指导方针进行定期审视，这些定期审视必须涵盖的要素包括：
1) 解释这个指导方针如何深化及扩大美台关系，并反映这个关系的价值、优点和重要性；
2) 对台湾是一个民主伙伴和一个尊重普世人权和民主价值观的自由开放社会给予应有的考虑；
3) 确保在处理与台湾的关系时能反映美台长期、广泛和基于价值的关系，并有助于台海两岸议题的和平解决；
4) 指明解除关于美台接触的所有剩余自我设限的机会，并研拟执行方案。
关于台湾指导方针的背景，瓦格纳办公室发布的声明提到，数十年来美国行政当局官员，包括高阶军官，都被禁止访问台湾以讨好中国；台湾高层领导也无法到美国访问，“双方官员的会面和书信往来必须符合一个冗长单子上的复杂而武断的要求，例如在旅馆而不是在联邦政府建筑里举行会谈，或是要求台湾官员不要穿戴任何正式官服或徽章。”
声明还说，前国务卿蓬佩奥在2021年1月宣布所有这些“指导方针”全部无效且作废，这个举措也受到台湾欢迎，并称这终结了“数十年的歧视”，不过拜登行政当局重新恢复了其中的许多限制。
“拜登总统的紧张不安对我们在台湾的伙伴是一记耳光，在他们与美国的接触中，他们应该被允许自豪地展示他们国家的旗帜和象征，”声明说。
（February 24, 2023
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO), Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after she introduced legislation to further cement U.S. support of Taiwan.
“I was deeply concerned when the Biden Administration decided to reimpose certain restrictions on contacts between U.S. and Taiwanese officials, a dangerous action that only emboldens China’s Communist Party and weakens U.S. support for our ally Taiwan. When Congress passed the Taiwan Assurance Act in 2020, we were crystal clear that the United States needed to eliminate these outdated and unnecessary restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan engagement. At a time of global instability, we must stand strong against China’s anti-democratic actions. President Biden’s bureaucratic red tape harms that stance, undermining our ability to coordinate more closely with Taiwan.
“I’m proud to introduce this bill to reinforce Congressional oversight on U.S.-Taiwan relations and ensure that changes in U.S. policies towards Taiwan are aimed at deepening and enhancing this important relationship. As Russia continues its appalling war on Ukraine with the support of the brutal dictatorships in Beijing and Tehran, the U.S. must boldly stand by its closest friends and partners.”
Background
For decades, most senior U.S. executive branch officials, including high-ranking military officers, were banned from visiting Taiwan to appease China. Similarly, Taiwan’s top leadership could not travel to the United States. Meetings and correspondence between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts had to meet a long list of complicated and arbitrary requirements, such as holding meetings at hotels rather than in official federal buildings or asking Taiwanese officials not to wear any official uniforms or insignia. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared all of these “guidelines” null and void in January 2021, a move Taiwan welcomed as the end of “decades of discrimination.” Many of these restrictions have since been put back in place by the Biden Administration. President Biden’s skittishness is a slap in the face to our partners in Taiwan, who should be allowed to proudly display their country’s flags and symbols in their engagement with the United States.
The Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act would require the Department of State to conduct periodic reviews of its guidelines for U.S. engagement with Taiwan. These regular reviews and updates must:
- Explain how the guidance deepens and expands United States-Taiwan relations, and reflects the value, merits, and importance of the United States-Taiwan relationship;
- Give due consideration to the fact that Taiwan is a democratic partner and a free and open society that respects universal human rights and democratic values;
- Ensure that the conduct of relations with Taiwan reflects the longstanding, comprehensive, and values-based relationship the United States shares with Taiwan, and contribute to the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.
- Identify opportunities to lift any remaining self-imposed limitations on U.S.-Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so.）