Washington: The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, a significant move aimed at countering China’s growing belligerence against the self-governed island.
The legislation passed on Monday aims to expose and restrict the financial dealings of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and their families if Beijing launches an assault on Taiwan, the Central News Agency of Taiwan reported.
Introduced in January by Republican Representative French Hill and Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, the bill sends a clear message to Beijing: any aggression against Taiwan will come at a steep cost to China’s corrupt leadership.
The act authorizes the US Treasury to publicly reveal the illicit financial assets of top CCP officials and their families if they engage in hostile actions against Taiwan.
“If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury Secretary to publish the illicit assets of Beijing’s senior-most leaders, including the names of financial institutions maintaining accounts,” said Hill during his address to the House.
He pointedly noted that the Chinese government, which fails to provide a proper social safety net for its citizens, has allowed its officials to amass immense wealth, deepening domestic inequality.
The Central News Agency report further stated that the legislation not only threatens to expose these ill-gotten riches but also imposes financial sanctions, cutting CCP officials and their families off from the U.S. financial system.
“For Chinese officials whose families profit from their ill-gotten gains, they too will find the world becoming a much smaller place,” Hill added, suggesting that China’s elite will struggle to hide their wealth as global scrutiny increases. The bill comes amid mounting international concern over China’s militaristic ambitions, particularly towards Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. (ANI)
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