Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

From left, US Representative Steve Chabot, then-Republican US vice presidential candidate Mike Pence and Pence’s wife, Karen, wave to the crowd during an election campaign rally in Mason, Ohio, on Oct. 17 last year.
Photo: AP

A bill that seeks to encourage visits between Taiwan and the US at all levels was on Thursday passed by a US House of Representatives subcommittee in the first step toward its legislation.

When news of documentary filmmaker Chi Po-lin’s (齊柏林) unexpected passing in a helicopter crash broke last weekend, it is no exaggeration to say that the hearts of nearly everyone in Taiwan were saddened by the loss of a man who had literally risked life to capture the nation in all its glory.

However, as the nation mourned the acclaimed director, eyebrows were raised when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) made an unprecedentedly poor decision by saying that Chi was “an outstanding KMT member.”