[Editor's Note] This article is reproduced by authorization.
Beijing time On September 25, 2022, the US Chinese website published an article by Ksliu, a well-known American current affairs commentator, "U.S. Congressman proposed the "Accelerating Arms Transfers to Taiwan Act"". Members of the two parties of the United States, Republican Representative Steve Chabot and MD Sherman, Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, D-CA, proposed the Accelerating Arms Transfers to Taiwan Act on September 21. The key points of the
bill are:
(1) Let Taiwan give priority to purchasing unnecessary defensive weapons from the United States. Currently, Taiwan's priority is ranked behind NATO countries;
(2) Accelerate Taiwan's procurement of US weapons and allow the Ministry of Defense to pre-purchase weapons that the Ministry of Defense believes that Taiwan may need, which will shorten the delivery time by two years;
(3) Authorize the US Department of Defense to set up an arsenal under the condition that Taiwan does not have a US military base to prevent Taiwan's transportation difficulties in blockade.
Someone pointed out that if the US military establishes an arsenal in Taiwan, it will inevitably lead to US military entry in Taiwan, or in other words, this is the first step in establishing a US military base of in Taiwan, .
"Anti-China Act" is coming
An indisputable fact before us is that since the Trump administration of the United States announced its first " National Security Strategy Report " on December 18, 2017 and clearly listed China as a "strategic competitor", the US policy toward China has shifted from "contact" 180 degrees to "suppression", suppressing China's peaceful rise has risen to the US strategic national policy, which has become a consensus between the two parties and the will of the whole country. Subsequently, various anti-China bills came one after another, such as the Hong Kong bill, the Xinjiang bill, the Tibet bill, and the Taipei bill... An American friend told me that there were hundreds of anti-China bills in the United States lined up to pass, of which , and the total number of anti-China bills, announcements, decisions and statements was proposed and passed in 365 days in 2020, with an average of 1.06 per day. Senator Rubio "resisted every time China" and was called "the contemporary American McCarthy " by the American media.
It is worth noting that since then, any anti-China bill passed by the US Congress has been passed almost unanimously, without a trace of opposition, which is something that has never been seen in history. This is enough to prove that suppressing China has become a consensus among the US government and the opposition. This also shows that once "anti-China" is elevated to the strategic national policy of the United States, no matter who becomes president, it cannot change this situation, because the United States is the "president of the iron-clad Congress". The anti-China bill was proposed and passed by Congress, and the executive power of the US president is limited. Some of the bills passed by Congress are mandatory laws, and the president can only implement them.
Moreover, the US government's anti-China behavior is completely a "clear card". It is a consistent, step-by-step and unswerving advancement. It uses any means to make all kinds of anti-China bills issued out of nothing, reverse black and white, and talk nonsense. Its purpose is only one, which is to subvert the national regime led by the Communist Party of China, divide China, and safeguard the United States' world hegemony.
" separation of powers " can't pee
At the same time, another indisputable fact before us is that the US government's China policy has always been "two skins": The White House says one thing, Congress does one thing, on the Taiwan issue, on the one hand, the White House promises to adhere to the "one China" policy, and on the other hand, Congress wants to trample on the "one China" red line.
From a distance, on December 16, 1978, China and the United States issued the "Joint Communiqué of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations". On January 1, 1979, the two countries officially established diplomatic relations. However, on March 28 and 29, 1979, the U.S. Congress and the Senate passed the "Relations with Taiwan Act" respectively, which was enough to make the " Joint Communiqué " of China and the United States look like an empty text.
From a close perspective, on July 28, 2021, just two days after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Sherman ended his visit to Tianjin and once again promised to adhere to the "one China" policy unchanged, U.S. House of Representatives passed a "State Department Appropriations Act" that prohibits the U.S. government from producing, purchasing or displaying any map that regards Taiwan as Chinese territory. On the same day, the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee passed another "Taiwanese bill", requiring Secretary of State to assist Taiwan in regaining its WHO observer status. Two Taiwan-related bills were issued within one day.
Why do the US government and Congress always have "two skins" in their China policy? The fundamental reason lies in the "separation of powers" political structure of the United States. The three major power systems of legislation, administration and judicial are independent of each other, and they restrain and supervise each other. Moreover, the separation of powers has long become a de facto tool of "party struggle". In the environment of multi-party system, various parties compete for power and profit, and even "fight".
In fact, the executive power of the US president is limited, which is subject to both the legislative power of Congress, the court's judicial power , and the "fourth power" - the media. The division of responsibilities of the political structure of the United States' "separation of powers" is very clear: Congress sets the tone, the president plays, and courts supervises.
French writer Tocqueville wrote in his book "On Democracy in America": "The US president has no power to block the formulation of laws, and he cannot get rid of the obligation to enforce the law. If he can cooperate actively and proactively, there is no doubt that it will promote the work of the government; but if he does not do so, the government can continue to operate. The legislature controls all his important matters through direct or indirect ways."
Although the US Constitution gives the president the power to deny the proposals and resolutions of the two houses of the Legislature, the president has the right to raise objections to reject all bills he disagrees, but at the same time stipulates that if the legislature passes it with a two-thirds majority again, the president's veto is invalid. The anti-China bill passed by the US Congress was basically proposed by both parties and passed by an absolute majority, so the president's impact on the anti-China bill is almost negligible.
When dealing with the United States, we must overcome "authoritarian thinking"
For a long time, in the process of dealing with the US government, we have always thought about problems with "authoritarian thinking". We always think that the US government is also the "top leader" of the president. The relevant functional departments turn a blind eye to the "two-skin" phenomenon between the White House representing the executive power and the Capitol Hill representing the legislative power. They are always playing with each other and playing with each other. They are always in a situation of "passively being beaten" in dealing with Sino-US relations.
In view of the characteristics of the separation of powers of the US government, when we deal with the United States, we cannot just stare at the White House, but also at Capitol Hill or even the federal court, and we should focus on Congress.
We can make a fuss about the US's institutional weaknesses of "convenient legislation and lack of control". On the one hand, we must try our best to prevent the issuance of bills that are unfavorable to China, and on the other hand, we must actively promote the issuance of bills that are beneficial to China. It is better to adopt the "person-to-peer tactic" to find out the key figures, install "informers" around them, and do the work in a targeted manner, especially to do the work first and prevent problems before they happen.
In this regard, we should learn from Israel. They maintain the US-Israel alliance and ensure the protection of Israel through three methods: political donations in the United States, participation in election voting or direct election, and organization of lobbying groups. Their experience is worth learning from.
Although Jews account for only 2% of the total population of the United States, their strength is very strong. Once a member of the parliament is found to be preparing to propose a bill that is unfavorable to Israel, American Jews will immediately do their jobs and let him dispel this idea as soon as possible; American Jews will not only donate money to support a candidate, but will also raise funds to oust politicians who oppose Israel. For example, Illinois There is a Congressman Findeli who publicly criticized Israel and expressed sympathy for the Arab world. The American Jewish group raised nearly $700,000 to attack Findeli until it was driven away.
In response to the current situation where Chinese people in the United States are in a mess, we need to strengthen their unity, encourage them to actively participate in politics, and strive for more voice. We can not only safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests more, but also contribute to the great cause of national rejuvenation of the motherland.
