A bill that will promote closer ties between the United States and Taiwan is heading to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The U.S. Senate approved the Taiwan Travel Act Wednesday by unanimous consent, following a similar move by the House of Representatives in January.
The legislation calls for “officials at all levels" to travel to and from the U.S. and Taiwan and meet with their respective counterparts, plus encourage Taiwanese economic and cultural representatives to conduct business in the United States.
The bill angered China, which lodged a diplomatic protest with Washington. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing that China is "strongly dissatisfied" with the bill, which "seriously violates" the "One China" policy that maintains that Taiwan is a part of China.
Hua urged Washington to cease all official exchanges with Taipei and "prudently" handle issues related to Taiwan "to avoid seriously interfering with and damaging China-U.S. relations."
But Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen praised the bill's final passage in a tweet posted late Wednesday, saying it "symbolizes the #US Congress' longstanding support for #Taiwan."
"The Taiwan-U.S. partnership is a key pillar of peace & stability for the Indo-Pacific region," she added.
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have grown since Tsai Ing-wen, the leader of the island's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected president in 2016.
China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war in the 1940s, when the Nationalists fled to Taiwan after their defeat by Mao Zedong's Communist forces. China insists on eventual unification of the two sides, by use of force if needed.
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