The US House Foreign Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has passed a bill supporting Taiwan’s bid for observer status at INTERPOL.
The bill calls for the US to lodge an official request to grant Taiwan observer status. It passed the subcommittee on Wednesday and will be sent to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for a vote on Thursday.
Subcommittee Chairman Matt Salmon said that refusing to create a convenient channel of communication between Taiwan and INTERPOL creates unnecessary risk in the face of a growing global terrorist threat.
If the House Committee on Foreign Affairs approves the bill, it will need to pass both the House and Senate before reaching US President Barack Obama.