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International Center / Reported by Liu Yixuan
The US House of Representatives passed the “National Defense Authorization Act 2021” on the 8th, including confirming the cornerstone of US-Taiwan relations. Looking back at the “National Defense Authorization Act” of the United States over the years, you can find that, in addition to being an important bill that the United States Congress must pass every year since 1961, has passed this year for 60 consecutive years. The number of mentions of Taiwan has also increased year over year from 2 times in 2011, and this year it is a record 76 times.
▲ The US House of Representatives passed the “National Defense Authorization Act 2021” on the 8th, including confirming the cornerstone of US-Taiwan relations. (Photo / Provided by the Presidential Palace)
Since the United States Congress is a bicameral system, the legislative process is complicated and many bills by legislators are often dead, so legislation is not an easy task.The National Defense Authorization Law provides an opportunity. The National Defense Authorization Act is proposed by the United States Congress each year and is a standard for the policy use and spending level of the United States defense budget in the next fiscal year.
The special feature of the National Defense Authorization Law is that it must be proposed every year and must be approved; otherwise, it will greatly affect US defense financing plans and projects.With this feature, the National Defense Authorization Act has been added to the National Security Authorization Act. “The packaged bill began in 1961 and has been continuously passed for 60 years until this year.
▲The United States Congress is bicameral and the legislative process is complicated. Many members of Congress fail to break through barriers often.(Photo / Obtained from the official website of the US House of Representatives)
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this year contains 1,260 and 9,724 relevant provisions related to Taiwan. Article 1260 expresses the views of Congress on the confirmation of the “Taiwan Relations Act” and the “Six Guarantees” as the cornerstones of US-Taiwan relations, Article 1260A involves the sale of arms to Taiwan, Section 1260B suggests a US-Taiwan medical security partnership, and Section 9724 protects Taiwanese citizens in the international arena. Fair Labor Standards for Financial Organizations.
According to Yang Guangshun, founder of the “United States Congress Taiwan Observatory”, he analyzed the Taiwan statistics mentioned in the National Defense Authorization Law. He noted that since 2011, the number of references to “China” in the bill has gradually increased since 2011. Five times a year, it has increased to 193 times in 2020. The number of mentions in the National Defense Authorization Law of 2021 is 191, maintaining a peak.
As for Taiwan, it was twice in 2011 and dropped to 0 in 2012 and 2014, but has gradually increased in recent years. In 2020, Taiwan was mentioned 53 times. In the 2021 bill passed this year, Taiwan was mentioned a record 76 times.
▲ In the United States National Defense Authorization Act this year, Taiwan was mentioned 76 times in a record way. (Photo / Provided by the Presidential Palace)
Yang Guangshun believes that this means that the United States is not only paying more attention to the threat from China, it is also more diverse and comprehensive. While the United States has launched a large-scale global countermeasure against China, it has also strengthened its security commitments to Taiwan, an ally directly facing the threat from China.
Since the National Defense Authorization Act is an important standard for allocating funds and requiring relevant ministries to submit reports, it was passed on schedule this year, demonstrating that US efforts to deter China are still ongoing. .
