Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi led the mission, which was scheduled to spend three days in Taiwan as part of a broader tour to the Indo-Pacific area.
A number of US Congress members met with Taiwan’s president on Thursday, a show of solidarity that is sure to draw criticism from China, which opposes such trips and regards them as a threat to its claim of sovereignty over the island.
Two years ago, when then-House Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, China dispatched warships and armed planes to every corner of the autonomous island democracy, launching ballistic missiles into adjacent waters.
In a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Republican Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House of Representatives special committee on the Chinese Communist Party, emphasized the support of both parties for the US-Taiwan alliance, stating it is stronger and more solid than ever.
The United States, like most other nations, does not legally recognize Taiwan as a country, but it maintains strong informal links with the island and is required by law to give Taiwan with the weaponry it requires to defend itself.
Gallagher praised Tsai, who is reaching the conclusion of her second and last term in government, for her role as president in Taiwan and for standing out “as a leader inside the free world.”
Tsai commended the United States for its continued assistance in strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. “Together we are protecting democracy and freedom and maintaining regional peace,” she stated, adding that she hoped for increased interactions between the United States and Taipei in a variety of fields.
A bipartisan delegation led by Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi, along with other members, will stay in Taiwan for three days as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region. The bipartisan group will meet with Taiwanese lawmakers and civil society figures to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and business, among other mutually beneficial matters.
Sri Krishnamoorthi praised Taipei as a “closest friend” and a role model for democracy, following Lai Ching-te’s election as president-elect. He praised the world’s most robust democracy and emphasized the peaceful exchange of authority during upcoming polls. He praised Taipei for demonstrating how polls should be conducted and its role as an example of democracy and a peaceful exchange of authority.
Krishnamoorthi is a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party’s top Democrat, established in 2023. The committee has held hearings on human rights, trade, and cyber incursions related to escalating tensions between the two giants. In February, Mexico surpassed China as the US’s top supplier of imported products for the first time in over two decades.
Congress is showing increased readiness to address China’s economic issues as economic relations worsen between the two nations. Taiwan was included in a $95 billion assistance plan, which includes $1.9 billion to replenish US weapons supplied to Taipei and $3.3 billion to develop new US-made submarines as part of a security agreement with Australia and the UK. The plan has stalled in the House.
Comments 2