Quite a few US lawmakers have stepped in Taiwan to have a meeting with the local officials as a part of their larger itinerary of visiting several Asian nations. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the leader of the bipartisan group, recently tweeted that after celebrating Thanksgiving with the troops in Korea, the entire delegation landed in Taiwan.
After having spent quite some time in Korea and Japan, it would definitely be quite poignant if the US delegation could meet up with the leaders to debate and discuss a whole bunch of national security and economic issues. With the supply chain crisis currently plaguing the US, the delegation would definitely discuss the agenda of microchips, of which Taiwan is the largest supplier.
US Lawmakers Looking Towards Strengthening Relations With Taiwan
The US Lawmakers stated that the Chinese Embassy in Washington had already tried discouraging their delegation from going to Taiwan, as Beijing had claimed it as Chinese territory. Now, although the United States has always considered Beijing to be the main authority over China- which includes Taiwan- the country has also had long-term unofficial diplomatic terms with Taipei.
The US lawmakers claimed that when the news of their trip became public, their offices had started receiving several blunt messages from the Chinese Embassy, asking her to cancel the entire trip. But, just like other Asian countries, the entire delegation went there to know and learn about the region, whilst affirming the commitment of the United States to their host, the Taiwanese. The US delegation, led by Slotkin, had been looking for an informative trip.
The US lawmakers consisted of Rep. Sara Jacobs, Rep. Nancy Mace, and Rep. Colin Allred. The trip was organized and funded by the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Mark Takano.
