Why undo a diplomatic agreement through one amendment to a spending bill?
An amendment under the new Consolidated Appropriations Act has banned the creation or use of maps by the Department of State and its foreign operations that depict Taiwan as part of China. The Appropriations Act, which provides appropriations to federal agencies for the 2022 fiscal year, is a 3000-page piece of legislation that proposed $1.5 trillion spending, including military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This amendment was introduced by Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and other Republican representatives, first in the House bill passed on State Department and related foreign service funding in July 2021, then again for the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This is sneaky because it would be unwise to vote against such an enormous spending bill due to one amendment.
This amendment undermines the fundamental principle of Sino-American relations by violating the longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity and unofficial relations with Taiwan enshrined in the Shanghai Communique, a diplomatic document signed by Beijing and Washington. Further, Tiffany said “Beijing’s bogus argument that Taiwan is part of Communist China” should be abandoned, and that the bill would “require honest maps that stop perpetuating the ‘One China’ lie.”
If Tiffany can undo a diplomatic agreement through one amendment to a spending bill, what agreement would you like to re-write? 👇🏼 Use the comment section below to let us know 👇🏼
You can also contact Rep. Tiffany to ask him why he is inflaming tensions across the Taiwan Strait and undermining confidence in bilateral and diplomatic agreements! Use our OneClickPolitics box below - it's simple!
Why undo a diplomatic agreement through one amendment to a spending bill?
An amendment under the new Consolidated Appropriations Act has banned the creation or use of maps by the Department of State and its foreign operations that depict Taiwan as part of China. The Appropriations Act, which provides appropriations to federal agencies for the 2022 fiscal year, is a 3000-page piece of legislation that proposed $1.5 trillion spending, including military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This amendment was introduced by Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and other Republican representatives, first in the House bill passed on State Department and related foreign service funding in July 2021, then again for the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This is sneaky because it would be unwise to vote against such an enormous spending bill due to one amendment.
This amendment undermines the fundamental principle of Sino-American relations by violating the longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity and unofficial relations with Taiwan enshrined in the Shanghai Communique, a diplomatic document signed by Beijing and Washington. Further, Tiffany said “Beijing’s bogus argument that Taiwan is part of Communist China” should be abandoned, and that the bill would “require honest maps that stop perpetuating the ‘One China’ lie.”
If Tiffany can undo a diplomatic agreement through one amendment to a spending bill, what agreement would you like to re-write? 👇🏼 Use the comment section below to let us know 👇🏼
You can also contact Rep. Tiffany to ask him why he is inflaming tensions across the Taiwan Strait and undermining confidence in bilateral and diplomatic agreements! Use our OneClickPolitics box below - it's simple!