Tourists view the Taipei 101 skyscraper, a landmark in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, Jan. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

Taiwan authorities made huge "donations" to the US in order to promote the passage of the "Taipei Act," which aims to prop up the presence of Taiwan island through measures including a large number of arms purchase rebates and budgets involving millions of tax-free allowances.

US President Donald Trump signed into law the "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act of 2019" on March 26 under which the US government is legitimately seeking to establish a diplomatic presence for the island and help Taiwan island gain participation in international organizations as well as level up its economic ties with the island.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council opposed and condemned the bill, saying it interferes in China's internal affairs and seriously violates the one-China principle and provisions of the three joint communiques between China and the US.

A source told the Global Times that to achieve its goal of passing the act in the US, Taiwan authorities had paid huge amounts of money in the form of "donations" to experts and scholars recommended by US Congress members through several educational research institutes such as the "Taiwan Institute of Economic Development" and "Taiwan Research Institute."

The US and Taiwan island also designated former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Hsiao Bi-khim as their contacts to operate and promote the passage of the bill, the Global Times learned from the source.

The US-based "Project 2049 Institute" is one of the popular organizations that frequently receives "donations" from Taiwan authorities, the Global Times found. Ian Easton, a research fellow from the Project 2049 Institute, had published an article in March advocating "America should put military forces in Taiwan" in return for Taiwan island's long-term funding and to cater to the rise of the US to contain China.

When the Project 2049 Institute was first established, Hsiao was an advisor and her relationship with the institute goes beyond the norm, Taiwan-based EAT News revealed.

Since Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016 and the DPP came to power, Taiwan's economic and cultural representative office in the US and its defense department have "donated" $350,000 to $500,000 to the institute, far more than funding from the US government.

Specifically, the Taiwan representative office in the US gave the institute in 2016 $150,000 in funding, while the Taiwan "defense department" also donated about $130,000. Additionally, the Prospect Foundation, a think tank in Taiwan focused on security, donated the considerable amount of $60,000-70,000 to the Project 2049 Institute.

Previously, US magazine The Nation had also revealed that Taiwan authorities had made a $550,000 contribution to the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most powerful conservative think tanks in Washington, through Taiwan's economic and cultural representative office in the US in 2019.

Scholars from the think tank later published several articles in diplomatic journals, urging the US government to sell weapons to Taiwan island.