An Act
To help maintain peace, security,
and stability in the Western Pacific and to promote the foreign policy
of the United States by authorizing
the continuation of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the
people of the United States and the people on
Taiwan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Taiwan Relations Act".
SEC. 2. (a)
The President- having terminated governmental relations between the United
States and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized by the United
States as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979, the Congress
finds that the enactment of this Act is necessary-- (1) to help maintain
peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific; and (2) to
promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation
of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the
United States and the people on Taiwan.
(b) It is
the policy of the United States--
(1) to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial,
cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and
the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland and all
other peoples of the Western Pacific area;
(2) to declare that peace and stability in the area are in the political,
security, and economic interests of the United States, and are matters
of international concern;
(3) to make clear that the United States decision to establish diplomatic
relations with the People's Republic of China rests upon the expectation
that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means;
(4) to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than
peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace
and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United
States;
(5) to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character; and
(6) to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort
to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security,
or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.
(c) Nothing
contained in this Act shall contravene the interest of the United States
in human rights, especially with respect to the human rights of all the
approximately eighteen million inhabitants of Taiwan. The preservation
and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby
reaffirmed as objectives of the United States.
SEC. 3. (a)
In furtherance of the policy set forth in section 2 of this Act, the United
States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense
services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain
a sufficient self-defense capability.
(b) The President
and the Congress shall determine the nature and quantity of such defense
articles and services based solely upon their judgment of the needs of
Taiwan, in accordance with procedures established by law. Such determination
of Taiwan's defense needs shall include review by United States military
authorities in connection with recommendations to the President and the
Congress.
(c) The President
is directed to inform the Congress promptly of any threat to the security
or the social or economic system of the people on Taiwan and any danger
to the interests of the United States arising therefrom. The President
and the Congress shall determine, in accordance with constitutional processes,
appropriate action by the United States in response to any such danger.
SEC. 4. (a)
The absence of diplomatic relations or recognition shall not affect the
application of the laws of the United States with respect to Taiwan, and
the laws of the United States shall apply with respect to Taiwan in the
manner that the laws of the United States applied with respect to Taiwan
prior to January 1, 1979.
(b)The application
of subsection (a) of this section shall include, but shall not be limited
to, the following:
(1) Whenever the laws of the United States refer or relate to foreign countries,
nations, states, governments, or similar entities, such terms shall include
and such laws shall apply with such respect to Taiwan.
(2) Whenever authorized by or pursuant to the laws of the United States
to conduct or carry out programs, transactions, or other relations with
respect to foreign countries, nations, states, governments, or similar
entities, the President or any agency of the United States Government is
authorized to conduct and carry out, in accordance with section 6 of this
Act, such programs, transactions, and other relations with respect to Taiwan
(including, but not limited to, the performance of services for the United
States through contracts with commercial entities on Taiwan), in accordance
with the applicable laws of the United States.
(3)(A) The absence of diplomatic relations and recognition with respect
to Taiwan shall not abrogate, infringe, modify, deny, or otherwise affect
in any way any rights or obligations (including but not limited to those
involving contracts, debts, or property interests of any kind) under the
laws of the United States heretofore or hereafter acquired by or with respect
to Taiwan.
(B) For all purposes under the laws of the United States, including actions
in any court in the United States, recognition of the People's Republic
of China shall not affect in any way the ownership of or other rights or
interests in properties, tangible and intangible, and other things of value,
owned or held on or prior to December 31, 1978, or thereafter acquired
or earned by the governing authorities on Taiwan.
(4) Whenever the application of the laws of the United States depends upon
the law that is or was applicable on Taiwan or compliance therewith, the
law applied by the people on Taiwan shall be considered the applicable
law for that purpose.
(5) Nothing in this Act, nor the facts of the President's action in extending
diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China, the absence of
diplomatic relations between the people on Taiwan and the United States,
or the lack of recognition by the United States, and attendant circumstances
thereto, shall be construed in any administrative or judicial proceeding
as a basis for any United States Government agency, commission, or department
to make a finding of fact or determination of law, under the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, to deny an export
license application or to revoke an existing export license for nuclear
exports to Taiwan.
(6) For purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Taiwan may be
treated in the manner specified in the first sentence of section 202(b)
of that Act.
(7) The capacity of Taiwan to sue and be sued in courts in the United States,
in accordance with the laws of the United States, shall not be abrogated,
infringed, modified, denied, or otherwise affected in any way by the absence
of diplomatic relations or recognition.
(8) No requirement, whether expressed or implied, under the laws of the
United States with respect to maintenance of diplomatic relations or recognition
shall be applicable with respect to Taiwan.
(c) For all
purposes, including actions in any court in the United States, the Congress
approves the continuation in force of all treaties and other international
agreements, including multilateral conventions, entered into by the United
States and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized by the United
States as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979, and in force
between them on December 31, 1978, unless and until terminated in accordance
with law.
(d) Nothing
in this Act may be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or
expulsion of Taiwan from continued membership in any international financial
institution or any other international organization.
SEC. 5. (a)
During the three-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act, the $1,000 per capita income restriction in insurance, clause (2)
of the second undesignated paragraph of section 231 of the reinsurance,
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall not restrict the activities of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation in determining whether to provide
any insurance, reinsurance, loans, or guaranties with respect to investment
projects on Taiwan.
(b) Except
as provided in subsection (a) of this section, in issuing insurance, reinsurance,
loans, or guaranties with respect to investment projects on Taiwan, the
Overseas Private Insurance Corporation shall apply the same criteria as
those applicable in other parts of the world.
SEC. 6. (a)
Programs, transactions, and other relations conducted or carried out by
the President or any agency of the United States Government with respect
to Taiwan shall, in the manner and to the extent directed by the President,
be conducted and carried out by or through--
(1) The American Institute in Taiwan, a nonprofit corporation incorporated
under the laws of the District of Columbia, or
(2) such comparable successor nongovermental entity as the President may
designate, (hereafter in this Act referred to as the "Institute"). (b)
Whenever the President or any agency of the United States Government is
authorized or required by or pursuant to the laws of the United States
to enter into, perform, enforce, or have in force an agreement or transaction
relative to Taiwan, such agreement or transaction shall be entered into,
performed, and enforced, in the manner and to the extent directed by the
President, by or through the Institute.
(c) To the
extent that any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance of the District of
Columbia, or of any State or political subdivision thereof in which the
Institute is incorporated or doing business, impedes or otherwise interferes
with the performance of the functions of the Institute pursuant to this
Act; such law, rule, regulation, or ordinance shall be deemed to be preempted
by this Act.
SEC. 7. (a)
The Institute may authorize any of its employees on Taiwan--
(1) to administer to or take from any person an oath, affirmation, affidavit,
or deposition, and to perform any notarial act which any notary public
is required or authorized by law to perform within the United States;
(2) To act as provisional conservator of the personal estates of deceased
United States citizens; and
(3) to assist and protect the interests of United States persons by performing
other acts such as are authorized to be performed outside the United States
for consular purposes by such laws of the United States as the President
may specify.
(b) Acts
performed by authorized employees of the Institute under this section shall
be valid, and of like force and effect within the United States, as if
performed by any other person authorized under the laws of the United States
to perform such acts.
SEC. 8. (a)
The Institute, its property, and its income are exempt from all taxation
now or hereafter imposed by the United States (except to the extent that
section 11(a)(3) of this Act requires the imposition of taxes imposed under
chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, relating to the Federal
Insurance Contributions Act) or by State or local taxing authority of the
United States.
(b) For purposes
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, the Institute shall be treated as
an organization described in sections 170(b)(1)(A), 170(c), 2055(a), 2106(a)(2)(A),,
2522(a), and 2522(b).
SEC. 9. (a)
Any agency of the United States Government is authorized to sell, loan,
or lease property (including interests therein) to, and to perform administrative
and technical support functions and services for the operations of, the
Institute upon such terms and conditions as the President may direct. Reimbursements
to agencies under this subsection shall be credited to the current applicable
appropriation of the agency concerned.
(b) Any agency
of the United States Government is authorized to acquire and accept services
from the Institute upon such terms and conditions as the President may
direct. Whenever the President determines it to be in furtherance of the
purposes of this Act, the procurement of services by such agencies from
the Institute may be effected without regard to such laws of the United
States normally applicable to the acquisition of services by such agencies
as the President may specify by Executive order.
(c) Any agency
of the United States Government making funds available to the Institute
in accordance with this Act shall make arrangements with the Institute
for the Comptroller General of the United States to have access to the;
books and records of the Institute and the opportunity to audit the operations
of the Institute.
SEC. 10.
(a) Whenever the President or any agency of the United States Government
is authorized or required by or pursuant to the laws of the United States
to render or provide to or to receive or accept from Taiwan, any performance,
communication, assurance, undertaking, or other action, such action shall,
in the manner and to the. extent directed by the President, be rendered
or Provided to, or received or accepted from, an instrumentality established
by Taiwan which the President determines has the necessary authority under
the laws applied by the people on Taiwan to provide assurances and take
other actions on behalf of Taiwan in accordance with this Act.
(b) The President
is requested to extend to the instrumentality established by Taiwan the
same number of offices and complement of personnel as were previously operated
in the United States by the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized
as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979.
(c) Upon
the granting by Taiwan of comparable privileges and immunities with respect
to the Institute and its appropriate personnel, the President is authorized
to extend with respect to the Taiwan instrumentality and its appropriate;
personnel, such privileges and immunities (subject to appropriate conditions
and obligations) as may be necessary for the effective performance of their
functions.
SEC. 11.
(a)(1) Under such terms and conditions as the President may direct, any
agency of the United States Government may separate from Government service
for a specified period any officer or employee of that agency who accepts
employment with the Institute.
(2) An officer
or employee separated by an agency under paragraph (1) of this subsection
for employment with the Institute shall be entitled upon termination of
such employment to reemployment or reinstatement with such agency(or a
successor agency) in an appropriate position with the attendant rights,
privileges, and benefits with the officer or employee would have had or
acquired had he or she not been so separated, subject to such time period
and other conditions as the President may prescribe.
(3) An officer
or employee entitled to reemployment or reinstatement rights under paragraph
(2) of this subsection shall, while continuously employed by the Institute
with no break in continuity of service, continue to participate in any
benefit program in which such officer or employee was participating prior
to employment by the Institute, including programs for compensation for
job-related death, injury, or illness; programs for health and life insurance;
programs for annual, sick, and other statutory leave; and programs for
retirement under any system established by the laws of the United States;
except that employment with the Institute shall be the basis for participation
in such programs only to the extent that employee deductions and employer
contributions, as required, in payment for such participation for the period
of employment with the Institute, are currently deposited in the program's
or system's fund or depository. Death or retirement of any such officer
or employee during approved service with the Institute and prior to reemployment
or reinstatement shall be considered a death in or retirement from Government
service for purposes of any employee or survivor benefits acquired by reason
of service with an agency of the United States Government.
(4) Any officer
or employee of an agency of the United States Government who entered into
service with the Institute on approved leave of absence without pay prior
to the enactment of this Act shall receive the benefits of this section
for the period of such service.
(b) Any agency
of the United States Government employing alien personnel on Taiwan may
transfer such personnel, with accrued allowances, benefits, and rights,
to the Institute without a break in service for purposes of retirement
and other benefits, including continued participation in any system established
by the laws of the United States for the retirement of employees in which
the alien was participating prior to the transfer to the Institute, except
that employment with the Institute shall be creditable for retirement purposes
only to the extent that employee deductions and employer contributions..
as required, in payment for such participation for the period of employment
with the Institute, are currently deposited in the system' s fund or depository.
(c) Employees
of the Institute shall not be employees of the United States and, in representing
the Institute, shall be exempt from section 207 of title 18, United States
Code.
(d)(1) For
purposes of sections 911 and 913 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,
amounts paid by the Institute to its employees shall not be treated as
earned income. Amounts received by employees of the Institute shall not
be:included in gross income, and shall be exempt from taxation, to the
extent that they are equivalent to amounts received by civilian officers
and employees of the Government of the United States as allowances and
benefits which are exempt from taxation under section 912 of such Code.
(2) Except
to the extent required by subsection (a)(3) of this section, service performed
in the employ of the Institute shall not constitute employment for purposes
of chapter 21 of such Code and title II of the Social Security Act.
SEC. 12.
(a) The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Congress the text of any
agreement to which the Institute is a party. However, any such agreement
the immediate public disclosure of which would, in the opinion of the President,
be prejudicial to the national security of the United States shall not
be so transmitted to the Congress but shall be transmitted to the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives under an appropriate injunction of secrecy
to be removed only upon due notice from the President.
(b) For purposes
of subsection (a), the term "agreement" includes- (1) any agreement entered
into between the Institute and the governing authorities on Taiwan or the
instrumentality established by Taiwan; and
(2) any agreement entered into between the Institute and an agency of the
United States Government.
(c) Agreements
and transactions made or to be made by or through the Institute shall be
subject to the same congressional notification, review, and approval requirements
and procedures as if such agreements and transactions were made by or through
the agency of the United States Government on behalf of which the Institute
is acting.
(d) During
the two-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act, the Secretary
of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House and Senate House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of Foreign Relations
the Senate, every six months, a report describing and reviewing economic
relations between the United States and Taiwan, noting any interference
with normal commercial relations.
SEC. 13. The President is authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act. During the three-year period beginning on the effective date speaker of this Act, such rules and regulations shall be transmitted promptly to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. Such action shall.not, however, relieve the Institute of the responsibilities placed upon it by this Act.'
SEC. 14.
(a) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and other appropriate committees
of the Congress shall monitor-
(1) the implementation of the provisions of this Act;
(2) the operation and procedures of the Institute;
(3) the legal and technical aspects of the continuing relationship between
the United States and Taiwan; and
(4) the implementation of the policies of the United States concerning
security and cooperation in East Asia.
(b) Such
committees shall report, as appropriate, to their respective Houses on
the results of their monitoring.
SEC. 15.
For purposes of this Act-
(1) the term "laws of the United States" includes any statute, rule, regulation,
ordinance, order, or judicial rule of decision of the United States or
any political subdivision thereof; and
(2) the term "Taiwan" includes, as the context may require, the islands
of Taiwan and the Pescadores, the people on those islands, corporations
and other entities and associations created or organized under the laws
applied on those islands, and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized
by the United States as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979,
and any successor governing authorities (including political subdivisions,
agencies, and instrumentalities thereof).
SEC. 16. In addition to funds otherwise available to carry out the provisions of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State for the fiscal year 1980 such funds as may be necessary to carry out such provisions. Such funds are authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 17. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 18.
This Act shall be effective as of January 1, 1979. Approved April 10, 1979.