Welcome everyone [Follow] me to talk about the past and the present together, and to discuss the general trend of the world. To better read this article, I suggest reading first: Why did Congress respond fiercely when China and the United States established diplomatic relations?

I am Tang Di, a history enthusiast. Welcome everyone [Follow] me to talk about the past and the present together, and to discuss the general trend of the world. A gentleman is just learning and making friends for the rest of his life!

For better reading this article, it is recommended to read first:

This means that the laws and treaties of the United States continue to apply to the people in Taiwan as before.

In order to avoid the suspicion of "two Chinas" and "one China and one Taiwan", when the bill mentioned Taiwan, it no longer used the title of "government" or "authority", nor did it use the "people of Taiwan" (people of Taiwan) , instead insist on using the "people on Taiwan". "

Part 2 specifies the relationship between the U.S. government departments and the U.S. association in Taiwan. For example, government departments can sell, rent or lend assets to the association, accept association services, and allow employees of the department to leave the department for a certain period of time. Working in the association, the association enjoys tax exemption, etc.

Part 3 stipulates that the Secretary of State allocate funds to the association.

Generally speaking, the bill is mainly about the technical provisions of the United States in the Taiwan Association, and does not involve Taiwan’s security issues at all.

This proposal is very different from the ideas of some members of Congress.

They tend to pass legislation to modify the Carter administration’s policy toward China, especially to strengthen attention to Taiwan.

In response to this sentiment, Carter President in January 1979 At a press conference on the 26th, the bill submitted by the State Department to Congress provides a "good foundation" to maintain the trade and cultural relations between the United States and the "people in Taiwan".

He estimated that members of Congress may have a possible bill. The dissatisfaction was warned in advance that he could not approve any legislation proposed by Congress that contradicted or violated the communiqué of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Carter's warning made some lawmakers disgusted. The executive authorities also signaled that Congress should The legislation on Taiwan will be completed before March 1, otherwise there will be no legal basis for the continued US-Taiwan relations. That is to say, the time left for Congress is only a little more than a month.

This makes some congressmen even more annoyed. In Zabrokki's words, they worked under the "gun" of the deadline imposed on them by the administration. Some members of the parliament had a strong opposition to the government.

2, House of Representatives

January 15, 1979, The 96th Congress of the United States opened. In the first few days, the Senate and the House of Representatives proposed more than a dozen Taiwan-related bills aimed at preserving and saving the diplomatic and defense relations between the United States and Taiwan.

For example, Democratic Senator Chad Stone and Republican Senator Robert Dole’s bill calls for diplomatic privileges and immunity to Taiwan’s liaison agencies in Washington, and prevent Taiwan from being expelled from international institutions.

Democratic Senator Dee Consini and other proposals require the government to promise that "if the Taiwan government and people are invaded by of the People's Republic of China, the United States will defend and defend Taiwan."

2. , On the 22nd, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the Taiwan Authorization Act submitted by the State Council.

Among the 15 members of the committee, 9 Democrats and 6 Republicans, this ratio is generally conducive to the passage of legislation that is more consistent with the opinions of the executive branch. The chairman of the Foreign Committee is Idaho Democratic Senator Church.

Although he and Carter are in the same party, they are political competitors. In 1976, Church defeated Carter in the presidential nomination, and is also considered to be the candidate who may compete for the Democratic presidential nomination again in 1980.

Another senior member of the Foreign Committee is New York Republican Javitz. He has a great influence in Congress and has a good reputation within the Republican Party. He is very interested in Taiwan's security issues. He has visited Taiwan twice and is concerned about Taiwan's security. The "economic miracle" is deeply impressed.

The hearing of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on February 5 was the first hearing in Congress after the release of the China-US diplomatic relations communiqué. The meeting was chaired by Church, Chairman of the Foreign Committee.The venue was full, and all newspapers and radio stations sent people to attend. The three major American television networks sent cameramen and reporters, and the public television network also broadcast the entire process in real time.

This is very different from the usual hearings where there are deserted and even the number of witnesses exceeds the audience.

Church's opening words are mild. He affirmed that the normalization of Sino-US relations was a "long-awaited thing" and was welcomed by all the friends and allies of the United States from New Zealand to Japan.

He also proposed:

The bill submitted by the executive authority is "regretably incomplete enough", "the United States must attach importance to the security and well-being of the people of Taiwan", and especially considering the termination of the United States-Taiwan Joint Defense Treaty (January 1, 1980) In the future, Taiwan will provide defensive weapons in a manner consistent with the Sino-US diplomatic relations communiqué; necessary steps must be taken to promote the continued growth of US-Taiwan trade and ensure that Taiwan continues to receive US loans and attract US investment.

House Foreign Affairs Committee also held a hearing from February 14 to 15, and Christopher just read his testimony in the Senate. Ankerzhi, David Kennedy, Chairman of the US-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, and Klein were still invited to testify. But the House hearings had neither TV media nor many listeners, and were far less glorious than the Senate hearings. The issues in the debate are similar to those in the Senate.

3. From the Taiwan Authorization Act to the Taiwan Relations Act

During the hearing of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Church and Javitz have begun to amend the Taiwan Authorization Act.

Javitz proposed an amendment to the United States and Taiwan "Common Defense Treaty" as stated in "Each Contracting Party recognizes that armed attacks on the territory of any Contracting Party in the Western Pacific region will endanger its own peace and security "Replaced with: the attack on Taiwan is a "common harm to the peace and security of the Taiwanese people and the United States in the Western Pacific"; the amendment also proposes that the United States should take action to defend its interests in the region.

Church handed the amendment to Christopher, who felt the wording was too tough.

The members of the Foreign Committee also had differences in their opinions:

Many members of the parliamentary committee share the same feelings with Christopher; some people, such as Helms, think that the language is not tough enough. The executive branch has stepped up lobbying for Congress. Christopher maintained regular contact with Congress, and Secretary Vance also told Church and Javitz that the amendment could not be accepted. President Carter also took action himself.

On February 8, he invited Church to White House for lunch and told him that if the revised provision violates the established policy, he will veto it. After lunch, Church withdrew his support for the amendment and said it was a hasty temporary proposal.

obviously is in response to Congress’ commitment to security in Taiwan, Carter said at a press conference on February 9:

If the disaster really happens in China and any other country… we will reassess our relationship with them. But this is the president's regular responsibility. We have protected our ability to continue to maintain trade, cultural, defensive relations with Taiwan on a positive and constructive basis, and if we feel that Taiwan is in unnecessary danger, nothing can stop Congress and the President from taking action, We can deploy the Pacific Fleet between Taiwan and mainland China, and there is nothing to prevent future Congress and the President from deciding to join the war if they choose to do so to defend the people of Taiwan, or some other country in the world we are obliged to defend and The words of the people. So we still have the absolute flexibility to deal with all kinds of things that can happen.

This is an unusual statement, the toughest wording of President Carter's remarks on China policy. Carter thought such a statement could indicate that he was uncompromising on the Taiwan issue, but he didn't know that he said he was out of trouble.

As the president, it is really inappropriate to put the measures taken to deal with future virtual possibilities and difficulties so concretely and conclusively. Obviously, he himself felt that he had gone too far. Three days later, on February 12, he made another "correction" statement at another press conference. He said:

I will not accept any resolutions from Congress. or amendments to legislation, if they conflict with our commitments to the Chinese government, which are the basis of our new normal relationship with China. I think any resolution or amendment, if it goes so far, that it provides a defensive commitment to Taiwan, is unacceptable.

The Senate Foreign Committee also held a hearing on the afternoon of February 8 when Woodcock was appointed as the first ambassador to China, and quickly passed the appointment case. But Church also adopted Helms' suggestion, asking Senate Majority Leaders to suspend the appointment of the whole court and wait for the Foreign Committee to complete the work on the Taiwan bill. Because Woodcock should take office on March 1, suspending the vote is naturally another restraint on the administration.

At that time, Church and Javitz discussed several times and revised the proposal, becoming the "Church-Javiz Amendment". The proposal made substantial changes to the executive authorities' proposal, summarizing the US policy to Taiwan as:

(1) Maintaining extensive, close and friendly business and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan; (2) indicating that the United States and the People's Republic of China have a combination of the United States and the People's Republic of China. The establishment of diplomatic relations is based on the expectation that any decision on Taiwan’s future will be through a peaceful means: (3) Any effort to determine Taiwan’s future in a non-peaceful manner is to be peace and security in the Western Pacific region. Threat and serious concerns to the United States; (4) Provide defensive weapons to the people of Taiwan. The amendment to

was adopted by the Foreign Affairs Commission club. Assistant Secretary of State Bennett, who is responsible for liaison with Congress, also said that the bill can be tolerated.

4, the formation of the text of the "Relations with Taiwan Law"

After a period of preparation, the meeting on revision of the bill text was held on February 21.

From March 7 to 13, the Senate plenary meeting debated the draft "Relations with Taiwan Law", and the central topic remains Taiwan's security and the United States' commitment to Taiwan's security. During this period, two amendments proposed by Republican Senator Charles Peisi caused an uproar.

In the first amendment, he believed that the "serious concerns of the United States" mentioned in the Church-Javitz Amendment cannot properly express the American policies and the wishes of the American people, because this statement has been used Many times, the United States has expressed serious concerns about the Soviet Union's rule over Eastern Europe, and the United States has also expressed serious concerns about the Soviet Union's dispatch of troops to Afghanistan , but what has the United States done?

So he proposed to change "a serious concern for the United States" to: "The United States' policy regards efforts to resolve the Taiwan issue in any non-peaceful way as a serious threat to the security of the Western Pacific and the United States."

He also said that this is not the toughest wording. He did not mention "it is the security interests of the United States", because the United States cannot survive without Taiwan, but the security interests of the United States will be significantly affected.

In the second amendment, he demanded that the president should notify Congress of threats to Taiwan’s security and the interests of the United States, add the words “consulting with Congress on appropriate actions”.

This amendment has caused heated debate in the Foreign Committee. Church said he was willing to accept the second item but opposed the first item.

The reason is:

First, the term "serious concern" cannot be isolated. The Church-Javinet Amendment not only mentions "serious concern", but also its entire context, and other references France, such as "the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China is based on the Taiwan issue that such expectations will be resolved through peaceful means", that is, if a non-peaceful method is adopted, then all the benefits China gets from the establishment of diplomatic relations will be wasted;

Second, The amendment already says that the non-peaceful approach is a "threat to peace and security in the Western Pacific region". This statement is heavy enough. If the security of the United States is not closely related to the security of the Western Pacific, then the United States will not Involved in two wars there in the past 25 years;

Third, the amendment has stipulated that it is necessary to provide defensive weapons to Taiwan and has made a commitment to Taiwan's security. Pei Xi's proposal is a waste of time. At this time, President Carter met with Church again and expressed concern about the wording of the Pessi bill. Before visiting Middle East , Carter appointed Vice President Mondale , who was once a senator to lobby for the senators. Mondale, Christopher and Frank Moore, an official who specializes in congressional lobbying, ran around, lobbying between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Finally, the proposal of Pei Xi was not passed by the Foreign Committee by 4 to 10 votes, and was rejected by 42 to 50 votes in the Senate.

March 13, the draft text of the Senate's "Relations with Taiwan Law" was passed at the plenary meeting by 90 to 6.

The House of Representatives held a plenary meeting on March 8 and 13 to debate the draft text. On March 13, the draft was passed by 345 votes to 55.

Both houses made several changes to the draft text during the debate, but the text submitted to the president must be consistent with the two houses.

For this purpose, 8 members of the Senate and the House of Representatives formed a consultative committee. From 19 to 20 March, the Committee adopted a consensus text in consultation. On April 10, signed by President Carter, the "Relations with Taiwan Law" was officially established.

In his speech at the signing, Carter said that this decree is consistent with the understanding we have achieved when normalizing relations with the People's Republic of China... I look forward to deepening and expanding U.S.-China relations in the coming years, Benefits our peoples and world peace.

The last "Relations with Taiwan Act" passed by the two houses of Congress and the "Taiwan Authorization Act" originally submitted to Congress by the executive authorities has substantial differences in content. The Taiwan Authorization Act is mainly about dealing with the relationship between the United States and the U.S. government departments in the Taiwan Association and the United States government departments and technical provisions on the operation of the association. In addition to retaining the technical provisions of the original bill, the Taiwan Relations Act also adds a lot of political nature. , policy-based content has changed the nature of the original bill.

5, Main content of the "Relations with Taiwan Law"

There are 18 articles in the law, the most important of which is:

(1) Regarding the United States' commitment to Taiwan's security. Article 2 of the law says:

The United States’ decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China is based on the future of Taiwan that will determine such expectations through peaceful means.

believes that any effort to determine Taiwan's future by non-peaceful means, including boycotts or embargoes, is a threat to peace and security in the Western Pacific region and is of serious concern to the United States.

provides defensive weapons to Taiwan.

enables the United States to maintain its ability to resist any action to force or other forms of coercion that would endanger the security of the people of Taiwan or the social or economic system.

Article 3 of the law also stipulates:

The United States will provide Taiwan with the amount of defense materials and defense services required to enable it to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities.

The President and Congress determine the nature and quantity of such defensive materials and services entirely based on their judgment of Taiwan’s needs and in accordance with legal procedures. Such decisions that need to be made on Taiwan’s defense should include estimates made by the U.S. military authorities in order to make recommendations to the President and Congress.

The President will promptly notify Congress of any threat to the security or social and economic system of the Taiwanese people, and any dangers arising from the resulting interests of the United States. The President and Congress shall decide in accordance with constitutional procedures appropriate actions by the United States to deal with any such danger.

How to resolve the Taiwan issue ultimately is completely China's internal affairs, but the law regards issues that only involve China's internal affairs as the theme of US domestic law, which roughly tramples on China's sovereignty and interferes with China's internal affairs.

These two articles actually stipulate the United States' obligation to Taiwan's security. Of course, this obligation is not as clear as the US-Taiwan Joint Defense Treaty that will be terminated. People can also give different explanations. In the future, the government will implement it. These terms can also be chosen, which is ambiguous with good intentions.

(2) About Taiwan’s international status.

Article 4 of the law "Applicability of Laws or International Agreements" stipulates:

does not have diplomatic relations or recognition does not affect the application of US law to Taiwan... When US law mentions or involves foreign countries and other ethnic groups, countries, governments or similar In entity, the above words should include Taiwan in the meanings, and such laws should also apply to Taiwan.

Congress ratifies all treaties and other international agreements (including multilateral conventions) signed by the United States with the Taiwan governance authorities it recognized as the Republic of China until January 1, 1979 and in force on December 31, 1978. , unless and until terminated by law. Nothing in the

One Law shall be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of Taiwan from any international financial institution or any other international organization.

This means that the United States actually still regards Taiwan as a "state" and the Taiwan authorities as a "government", which is incompatible with the spirit of the China-US "Communiqué for the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations".

In addition, the law also stipulates that the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and other relevant committees of the Congress should monitor the implementation of the law, the United States' working procedures in the Taiwan Association, and report their supervision to their respective members. This gives the United States a certain official nature to the Taiwan Association.

6, Chinese government protests

Chinese government closely monitors the legislative process of the "Relations with Taiwan Law".

The final understanding reached between the two sides in the normalization negotiations is that the two countries will achieve normalization, put the issue of US weapons sales to Taiwan first, and continue negotiations after the establishment of diplomatic relations. But now, the US Congress has to make a unilateral decision, which is obviously inconsistent with the understanding between the two sides in the negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations.

The Chinese government of course expressed great concern about such a law that seriously undermines the basis of normalizing Sino-US relations and violates the communiqué for the establishment of diplomatic relations.

During the Congress’ debate on the Relations Act with Taiwan, on March 3, 1979, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Chai Zemin was ordered to convey an oral message to US Secretary of State Vance, saying:

What laws are the US government and Congress enacted? China will not give it to the United States’ internal affairs. Interfere, but China is rightly concerned about any legislation involving Taiwan, the territory of China; the arrangements for future relations between the United States and Taiwan should be handled in accordance with the principles agreed by both sides when the two sides established diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and unilateral violations or undermines these principles are not allowed. China cannot agree to any interference in China's internal affairs, making the US-Taiwan relations official and retaining the legislative provisions of the US-Taiwan Joint Defense Treaty in disguise. Secretary Vance said the U.S. government will influence Congress but cannot control it.

On March 16, Foreign Minister Huang Hua met with Ambassador Woodcock and declared to the US government on behalf of the Chinese government:

The legislative bill on US-Taiwan relations passed by the Senate and House of Representatives violated the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on a series of issues. The principle of agreement and the commitment of the US side are essentially an attempt to maintain the US-Chiang Joint Defense Treaty to some extent, continue to interfere in China's internal affairs, and make the future relationship between the US and Taiwan official.

The Chinese government certainly cannot agree to this.

If this proposal is finally passed in the current wording and signed and taken into effect, it will be harmful to the new relationship between China and the United States. Foreign Minister Huang Hua asked the US government to use its influence and power to ensure that there is no violation of the agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the legislative adjustment of the US-Taiwan relations.

The United States has established the "Taiwan Relations Law" despite China's repeated solemn position, and China is very angry about it.

On April 19, Deng Xiaoping, when meeting with the Senate Foreign Committee headed by Church, visited China, pointed out:

"The political basis for the normalization of relations between China and the United States is that there is only one China, and this foundation is now interfered with; China's response to the United States The "Relations with Taiwan Act" passed by Congress is not satisfied. One of the most essential problems of this bill is that it actually does not recognize that there is only one China; President Carter said that he must abide by the Sino-US diplomatic relations agreement when implementing this bill, and China is looking at it. The actions taken by the United States in the future."

On April 28, the Chinese Foreign Ministry sent a note to the US government, pointing out that many provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act violated the Sino-US diplomatic relations agreement and caused damage to the relations between the two countries. The Chinese government will never agree with the United States continuing to sell weapons to Taiwan. China's position of opposing "two Chinas" and "one China and one Taiwan" is unswerving.

Faced with repeated protests from the Chinese government, the Carter administration replied on July 6 that the United States will abide by the various understandings reached when the two countries established diplomatic relations. "The US-Taiwan relations law finally passed by Congress is not in every detail. In line with the will of the government, but it provides the president with full power to deal with it at his discretion, allowing the president to implement the law in a fully consistent manner. "

The issuance of the "Relations with Taiwan Law" is a normalization of Sino-US relations A strong dissonance in the process, which is incompatible with the development of Sino-US relations. It laid the root of many contradictions and frictions in China-US relations in the future, and became the main constraint and serious obstacle to the further development of relations between China and the United States.

According to the "Relations with Taiwan Act", the United States established the American Association in Taiwan as a regular channel for communication with Taiwan. But in fact, the US government and the Taiwan authorities regard it as part of the US government.

The candidates such as the chairman of the association and the director of the office in Taipei are determined after repeated discussions between the executive body and the top figures in the Congress. Sometimes such consultations can last for more than a year.

The "Relations with Taiwan Law" cannot stipulate all specific issues. The State Council has a "guidance" policy on how to specifically reflect "unofficial relations", such as high-level officials do not visit each other, do not receive visiting Taiwanese officials at the State Council and the White House, etc.

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