house Passes Rep. Ratcliffe's U.S.-Taiwan Cyber Partnership Amendment

Press Release

Rep. John Ratcliffe's (R-Texas) amendment passed the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday to bolster the cybersecurity partnership between the United States and Taiwan.

The legislation initiates the establishment of a high-level, interagency U.S.-Taiwan working group tasked with coordinating responses to emerging cybersecurity issues. It was included as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Ratcliffe released the following statement upon its passage:

"China has clearly demonstrated its capability and willingness to conduct cyber-attacks against our country, such as the state-sponsored economic espionage that led to the indictment of Beijing-linked hackers last year," Ratcliffe said.

"On top of implementing strict retaliatory measures to deter this malicious behavior, we should work proactively with our allies to establish preventative defense plans that leverage cybersecurity sharing strategies. Taiwan is uniquely positioned to partner with us on our efforts to combat Chinese cyber-attacks, and I look forward to enhancing our collaboration in this space.

"I'm grateful my U.S.-Taiwan cyber partnership amendment passed the House with strong bipartisan support -- because cybersecurity is national security, and we should be working together on innovative efforts to ensure our digital borders are protected."

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