US and Taiwan mark 40th anniversary of Taiwan Relations Act Former US House speaker Paul Ryan meets Tsai Ing-Wen, president of Taiwan to mark the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). The laws passed by the US congress in 1979 required Washington to provide Taiwan with means of self-defence even as the United States switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Since then, Washington has remained Taipei's most powerful unofficial ally and its leading arms supplier. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES