The US House of Representatives is expected to review the TAIPEI Act on Thursday.

The act provides US help towards strengthening ties between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies. It also provides US support for Taiwan’s bids to join international organizations. The House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee approved the act in a unanimous vote in October last year.

Representative David Cicilline says that Taiwan and the US share common values, and that Taiwan’s democracy is the core of the important friendship between the two sides. He also says that Taiwan has made outstanding contributions in areas such as global health and aviation safety.

Cicilline says that China has been blocking Taiwan from international events and forcing Taiwan’s diplomatic allies into severing ties with the island country. He said that Taiwan is a partner that shares United States’ commitment to democracy, and that the act will send a strong warning to Beijing.