Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

On Aug. 2, 1790, a year after the inauguration of the first US president, George Washington, the US held a census under the general direction of then-US secretary of state Thomas Jefferson. It was the first US population count, and the census now takes place every 10 years. There have been 22 federal US censuses.

Taiwanese-Americans started immigrating to the US as early as the 1950s and have been arriving steadily ever since. However, nobody knows — not even the US Census Bureau — how many Taiwanese-Americans there are in the US. Estimates range from 250,000 to 1 million.

In recent months, both chambers of the US Congress have passed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” as cornerstones of US-Taiwan relations.

The “six assurances,” which were given to Taiwan by then-US president Ronald Reagan in July 1982, are US pledges not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, not to hold prior consultation with China on the sales of specific weapons systems, not to play a mediation role between Taiwan and China, not to pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China, not to revise the Taiwan Relations Act, and not to change the US position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan (ie, not to accept China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan).