In April 2005 the Canadian House of Commons discussed Private
Members Bill No. 357 (Bill C-357) tabled by the Conservative MP, Jim
Abbott and popularly known as the Taiwan Affairs Act or TAA. It
passed its first reading and was sent to the Foreign Commerce Committee
for further discussion. However, in November Paul Martin’s Liberal
government was forced to call elections and hence the Act proceeded no
further. Nonetheless, in a country like Canada that has not had
historical links with Taiwan, the discussion provoked by the Bill is worth
remarking.
This paper discusses the content of the Bill, the process of its
discussion and its significance, within in the context of the history of
Taiwanese-Canadian relations. Hence this paper first presents the history
of Taiwanese-Canadian relations, then discusses the TAA itself, and
finally assesses the effect and significance of the TAA.