Washington's Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has been the biggest hurdle in the deepening of Sino-US ties.

The past year has seen the Chinese mainland and Taiwan take the peaceful development track across the Taiwan Straits. Sino-US ties, too, have seen a smooth transition after Barack Obama took over as the US president, and now seem to be on a robust development momentum.

But some scholars credit the TRA for the positive developments in Sino-US and cross-Straits ties. This is ridiculous, coming as it does on the 30th anniversary of the US Congress passing a controversial bill. The US Congress passed the TRA three months after the country normalized its diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China (PRC) in January 1979. The TRA was aimed at continuing America's "official ties" with Taiwan even after breaking its ties with the island and establishing diplomatic relations with the mainland. The TRA says the US would fulfill its "security commitment" made to the island in case of emergency. The TRA was a big step backward for the US from its decision to normalize ties with the PRC. In passing the bill, the US not only interfered with China's internal affairs, but also infringed upon its sovereignty.