Four congressional Republicans are urging Washington, D.C., officials to establish sister-city ties with Taiwan.
In a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., along with Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Andy Barr, R-Ky., implored the mayor to establish sister-city ties with Taipei, Taiwan.
"Since 1984, Washington, D.C. has maintained sister city ties with Beijing, despite Communist China's well-documented human rights abuses and acts of genocide. The Chinese Communist Party has long sought to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, both diplomatically and economically," according to a statement from Rubio's office.
The lawmakers maintained establishing sister-city ties "would deepen our commitment to our strong ally in the Indo-Pacific."
In the letter they stated: "Sister-City relationships represent important symbolic partnerships expressing the social and cultural connection between communities. Far too often, our Taiwanese friends have been left isolated on the international stage, and a pact with the capital of the United States and a voice of the free world would show the international community that Taiwan is not alone.
"Your action would speak volumes to the cultural and people-to-people ties of the United States and Taiwan and be a strong point of symbolism in line with the 45th anniversary of the TRA (Taiwan Relations Act)."
In March, Rubio proposed sharply boosting tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports by $20,000 to stop the country "from flooding U.S. auto markets," according to Reuters.
Rubio, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he's also proposing legislation to extend tariffs to vehicles produced by Chinese automakers in other countries like Mexico and limit subsidies for electric vehicles to those that meet stringent North American free trade rules.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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