US lawmakers look to scrap 'one-China policy' through resolution  

Deeming 'one-China policy' as outdated and counter-productive, two United States congressmen have introduced a resolution calling for the US government to resume formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. 

The bill, US Congress House Concurrent Resolution 21, was sponsored by US House representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry on February 26, Focus Taiwan reported.  

The resolution called US government to scrap the 'one-China policy'. The new resolution urged the US government to resume normal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement with Taiwan, and support Taiwan's membership in international organisations. 

According to Focus Taiwan, the US government switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and has since maintained only unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan as defined by the Taiwan Relations Act. 

According to the texts of the bill, the 'one China policy' is obsolete, does not serve the people of Taiwan or the US and fails to reflect the reality that Taiwan has been a sovereign and independent country for over 70 years. 

It also said Beijing has weaponised the 'one China policy' to block Taiwan's membership and full participation in international organisations and events, 'ranging from the United Nations and the World Health Organization to the Olympic Games'. 

Taiwan has actually regularly participated in the Olympic Games, but under the name 'Chinese Taipei'. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. 

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.  

"The President should recognise the legitimacy of the democratically elected national government in Taipei, normalise diplomatic relations between our two nations, appoint a US ambassador to Taiwan, and receive a Taiwanese ambassador to the US," the bill said.