Although the Taipei Times welcomes American support, its editors think that the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, recently passed by the U.S. House, is too feeble to in fact deter Chinese aggression toward Taiwan if enacted (“EDITORIAL: Proposed sanctions are not enough,” September 15, 2024).
The bill would empower the US government to publish the “illicit” financial assets of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Among the problems: 1) the U.S. would not be able to publish any such information within China, 2) Chinese citizens are anyway “largely aware of corruption in their government already, but are powerless to act on that information,” 3) the threat of publishing such info outside of China is no source of pressure either, since Party members “do not even attempt to hide illegal or questionable behavior, as three examples from 2022 demonstrate.”
Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye [shown above] said during an interview with French media on Aug. 3 that year that in the event of China’s annexation of Taiwan, Taiwanese would need to be “re-educated” to make them patriotic and accepting of unification.
This was followed by Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian smiling on TV while discussing the arrest of Australian activist Drew Pavlou in the UK over false charges, from which he was later absolved. Then in October 2022, a Hong Kong dissident was dragged onto the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, and beaten.
These sorts of actions are evidence that CCP officials care little what anyone knows or thinks about them. Financial restrictions could have more impact as a deterrent, but they need to be comprehensive and must target the CCP as a whole, which is outside the scope of the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act….
Such legislation [to be effective] must entirely prohibit financial transactions, either direct or indirect, between tax-paying individuals or companies registered in the US and any entity in China.
Trade routed through other countries to evade sanctions would also need to be targeted. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea for American companies to “diversify their export partners and supply chains.”
