U.S. Secretary of State Blinken appealed in Congress that the U.S. should agree to pay a membership fee of 150 million U.S. dollars to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and said that if the U.S. were absent from UNESCO, it would be tantamount to giving China the opportunity to formulate artificial intelligence (AI) rules Chance.

(Reuters)

[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] U.S. Secretary of State Blinken (Antony Blinken) appealed to Congress to agree to pay a membership fee of 150 million US dollars (approximately NT$4.55 billion) to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), saying that if the United States Absence from UNESCO is tantamount to giving China the opportunity to formulate artificial intelligence (AI) rules.

According to comprehensive foreign media reports, in December last year, Blinken's Democratic Party still controlled the majority in the US Congress, when Congress paved the way for the US to resume providing funds to the Paris-based UNESCO.

However, after UNESCO accepted Palestine as a member in 2011, the United States expressed its dissatisfaction by delaying the payment of membership fees; in the new national budget, US President Biden proposed to include 150 million US dollars in UNESCO membership fees as a return to the United Nations part of the organization.

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When Blinken explained the budget to Congress on the 22nd, he told the Federal Senate Committee, "I quite think we should return to UNESCO again, not as a gift to UNESCO, but because what is happening at UNESCO is very important." Pointing out, "China is now UNESCO's largest single donor country, which is quite important, and we are not even on the table. They are formulating rules, norms and standards for artificial intelligence, and we hope to be able to participate."

The United States has paid 80 million U.S. dollars (approximately NT$2.4 billion) or about 22% of the budget to UNESCO for many years. Until 2011, when UNESCO accepted Palestine as a member, the United States stopped providing donations to the organization according to law.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who withdrew from UNESCO in 2019 along with Israel, accused the organization of being biased against Israel.

According to another report, according to the large and diverse spending bill passed at the end of last year, the US Congress authorized the president to abandon the old law and fund UNESCO if he determined that the move could counter China's influence.

Additionally, the U.S. says China has become its biggest global adversary through its rapid advances in emerging technologies.