[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5630 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5630
To require agencies to use the term ``Taiwan'' instead of ``Chinese
Taipei'', and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2023
Mr. Donalds (for himself, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Self, Mr. Tiffany,
and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require agencies to use the term ``Taiwan'' instead of ``Chinese
Taipei'', 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan Identification Terminology
and Label Enhancement Act'' or the ``TITLE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
(1) The United States Government has never officially
recognized the People's Republic of China's claim of
sovereignty over Taiwan.
(2) The Chinese Communist Party in the People's Republic of
China seeks to control Taiwan through means of persuasion and
coercion, and potentially compellance.
(3) The People's Liberation Army has set a goal of 2027 to
have the capability to invade Taiwan, which also marks the 100-
year anniversary of the People's Liberation Army's founding.
(4) The People's Republic of China refers to Taiwan as a
``region'' and to the President of Taiwan as ``the leader of
the Taiwan region'', illustrating the People's Republic of
China's mistaken view that Taiwan is a region of China.
(5) Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are separated
by a ``median line'' in the Taiwan Strait, which acts as an
unofficial boundary that has generally been respected since
1999, until September 2020, when a Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman stated, ``there is no so-called median line in the
Strait'', and People's Liberation Army aircraft and vessels
have repeatedly violated since.
(6) Taiwan officially recorded 380 Chinese air incursions
into the Taiwanese Air Defense Identification Zone in 2020, 969
Chinese air incursions in 2021, and 1,115 Chinese air
incursions in 2022, illustrating a growing disregard to
Taiwan's sovereignty.
(7) Many Taiwanese individuals see the ``Chinese Taipei''
nomenclature as a symbol of oppression from the People's
Republic of China, of which originally stems from an effort to
find a way for both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China
to participate in the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics and the
1980 Moscow Summer Olympics.
(8) In Mandarin language, Taiwan uses a version of
``Chinese Taipei'' in which ``Chinese'' is the cultural term
``zhonghua'' and does not have sovereignty connotations.
Comparatively, the People's Republic of China uses a version of
``Chinese Taipei'' in which ``Chinese'' is ``zhongguo'' or
``China'' which mistakenly implies that Taiwan is part of
China.
(b) Purpose.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress--
(1) believes the United States must stand firm in the
commitments it made in the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301
et seq.), which states that the United States must ``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'';
(2) continues to support and defend Taiwan as it withstands
control-seeking persuasion and coercion from an increasingly
aggressive People's Republic of China; and
(3) decries the United States Government's use of ``Chinese
Taipei'' nomenclature, but instead favors the use of
``Taiwan,'' to ultimately exert the belief that Taiwan's status
must be resolved peacefully and include the wishes of the
people of Taiwan.
SEC. 3. AGENCY REQUIREMENT TO USE ``TAIWAN''.
(a) In General.--An agency may not use ``Chinese Taipei'' and shall
use ``Taiwan'', except--
(1) in historical context explaining the People's Republic
of China's attempt to control Taiwan through persuasion and
coercion; or
(2) in the formal title of a Federal document.
(b) Requirement To Update Agency Websites.--Not later than 14 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency
shall ensure the website of the agency meets the requirements of this
section.
(c) Agency Defined.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
<all>