Nineteen U.S. lawmakers, nearly all of them from President George W. Bush's Republican party, have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives backing U.N. membership for Taiwan, a move that could anger China.
It was introduced on Thursday at the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 18 Republican legislators and one Democrat, with the move led by New Jersey Republican Representative Scott Garrett, congressional records showed.
The bill said Taiwan and its 23 million people "deserve membership in the United Nations" and that the United States should fulfill a commitment "to more actively support Taiwan's membership in appropriate international organizations."
The move came after the chief U.S. diplomatic representative in Taiwan earlier Friday reiterated Washington's official opposition to President Chen Shui-bian's apparent determination to push ahead with a referendum on U.N. membership for the island under the name "Taiwan."
The Bush administration has tried to discourage Chen's effort, which has touched a raw nerve with China, which considers it a provocative step toward independence.
Taiwan, under its official name the Republic of China, lost its U.N. seat to China in 1971. Its efforts to rejoin using its official title have been repeatedly blocked by Beijing, which sees the island as part of its territory.
During a recent Asia-Pacific summit in Sydney, Chinese President Hu Jintao told Bush that Taiwan's referendum plan had propelled the cross-strait situation into a "possibly dangerous period."
No date has been fixed for debate on the bill in the U.S. legislature.
"It's unclear when it will come before the committee, we have no mark ups scheduled for the next month," said Lynne Weil, spokeswoman for House foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Lantos.
Chen's Democratic Progressive Party is pushing for the controversial vote to be held alongside the presidential elections on March 22, 2008.
But on Friday the de facto U.S. envoy to Taiwan, Stephen Young, said a referendum was "not necessary" or "helpful" and called on Taiwan to adopt a "careful and moderate approach" in relations with China.
"I have regular dialogues with President Chen and the other players in Taiwan on the political side," Young, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), told reporters.
"I think it is clear to say neither President Chen nor anybody else here in Taiwan should be confused by the effective opposition to the referendum and the reasons."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said in August Washington opposed any such referendum because it would be a step to declaring full independence.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas J. Christensen also recently urged the leadership in Taipei to "anticipate potential Chinese red lines and reactions and avoid unnecessary and unproductive provocations."
Local Taiwan newspapers have reported that Washington has decided to postpone the sale of dozens of F-16 C/D fighters to Taipei in an effort to show its displeasure.
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