Staff writer, with CNA, WashingtonFour US senators on Thursday reintroduced a draft bill to ensure that Taiwan is recognized internationally, as China increases efforts to limit Taipei’s participation on the global scene and poach its diplomatic allies. US senators Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, John Cornyn and Chris Coons renewed efforts to pass the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, or the TAIPEI Act, which would require the US government to engage with governments worldwide in a bid to support Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition and strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan. “The US should use every tool to support Taiwan’s standing on the international stage,” Gardner said in a statement issued by the senators who sponsored the bill. “China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan by bullying and pressuring countries, especially in our own hemisphere, cannot go unanswered,” Rubio said. There was strong, bipartisan support for Taiwan’s free-market democracy and its diplomatic relationships around the world, Coons said, adding that the bill confirmed that.

Source: Taipei Times May 25, 2019 15:56 UTC