Moolenaar, Lawmakers Call for DC Mayor Bowser to Establish Sister City Relationship with Taipei
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alongside U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) wrote to Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, calling on her administration to establish sister city ties with Taipei, Taiwan.
The lawmakers write, “We write to urge you and your administration to establish sister city ties with Taipei. Congress, and the city of Washington, D.C., have long played a leading role in U.S.-Taiwan relations, and the greater Washington metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Taiwanese American populations in the country.”
They continue, “It will send a clear message that we will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to dictate who we call our friends. We understand that there may be those in the international community who would object to this measure, however, the United States should never allow the threat of verbal retaliation and rebuke to dictate our actions. Allowing fear of others’ reactions to determine our policy would only reaffirm said parties’ belief that intimidation is an effective tool of statecraft.”
Despite the CCP’s well-documented human rights abuses, Washington D.C. has maintained sister city ties with Beijing since 1984. The recent celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act presents an opportunity to establish a similar relationship with Taiwan’s capital city of Taipei. The Chinese Communist Party has long sought to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, and this courageous gesture by Mayor Bowser would signify our strong relationship with our friends in Taiwan.
View the lawmakers’ letter to Mayor Bowser HERE or continue reading below: