Few U.S. political relationships are as valuable to Taiwan as its bond with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-leaning political network that brings together state lawmakers around conservative policy priorities. Tsai addressed ALEC as president in 2020, and Hsiao visited an ALEC conference in Salt Lake City in 2021. The group has embraced Taiwan’s cause, drafting sample text for pro-Taiwan legislation that members have advanced all over the country.
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“Taiwan has done an excellent job of having the diplomatic infrastructure you need to communicate not just in the Beltway, but outside of Washington,” said Jones, describing a remarkable state-level consensus around supporting Taiwan: “When I go to state legislatures, I can talk to any state lawmaker about Taiwan and 9 times out of 10 they’re going to agree with me, I’m going to agree with them.”
China has been all but impotent to counter Taiwan in this respect. The mainland government is so politically toxic in the United States and anti-China policies are now so mainstream here that Chinese diplomats can only register their disapproval for the record. Jones told me that Chinese representatives had contacted ALEC to voice displeasure when the group invited Tsai to address one of its conventions; after ALEC shrugged off that scolding, China didn’t try again when the group hosted Hsiao.
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Rex Rice, a state legislator in South Carolina, is emblematic of this brand of American politician. A conservative Republican who is an active member of ALEC, Rice was an author of the ALEC resolution encouraging states to back the endangered democracy.
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Source link : https://alec.org/article/how-taiwan-conquered-u-s-politics-and-showed-europe-how-its-done-karla-jones-in-politico/
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Publish date : 2024-07-09 07:00:00
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