[News]5 US congressmen arrive in Taiwan to discuss important issues | US-Taiwan relations | Taiwan Strait | Tsai Ing-wen

[Epoch Times, August 14, 2022](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Xu Jian) ​​On August 14, US Senator Markey led a congressional delegation to visit Taiwan. During their two-day visit, they will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The two sides will discuss important topics such as US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and global supply chains.

At this point, the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is just over a week away. The CCP used Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as an excuse to get angry and launched an unprecedented military exercise in the Taiwan Strait to intimidate.

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The five members of the delegation who arrived in Taiwan on the evening of the 14th were:Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Asia-Pacific Group,Democratic Senator Ed Markey, Democrat John Garamendi, Democrat Alan Lowenthal, Democrat Don Beyer and Republican Radwa Root (Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen).

At about 7:00 p.m., the US Air Force C-40C executive plane with the callsign “spar11” arrived at Songshan Airport. According to the flight software flightradar24, the C-40C transport plane took off from Yokota Air Force Base in Japan. On August 2, Speaker Pelosi also flew to Songshan on the same type of special plane.

On behalf of the Taiwanese government, Deputy Minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yu Dazai, as well as Director of the North American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Xu Youdian and others went to greet Maji and his party.

Presidential Spokesperson Zhang Dunhan said that at a time when the CCP’s military exercises have heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait and the region, Maki’s visit to Taiwan once again demonstrated the firm support of the U.S. Congress for Taiwan and the commitment of democratic partners to jointly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the region. determination.

The delegation will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on the 15th, accept a banquet from Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie, and visit the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan. Zhang Dunhan told the media that the Taiwan Presidential Office expressed a sincere welcome.

Zhang Dunhan also said that he hopes that through this exchange, Taiwan and the United States will exchange views on the regional situation, economic and trade relations, and various issues of common concern, continue to deepen the Taiwan-US cooperative relationship, continue to maintain the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region, and continue to strengthen Global democratic resilience.

A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that at a time when the CCP continued to escalate regional tensions, the U.S. Congress once again organized a heavyweight delegation to visit Taiwan, demonstrating that the United States is not afraid of the CCP’s threats and intimidation, and its strong support for Taiwan.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) confirmed that Markey will lead a congressional delegation to Taiwan on the 14th and 15th as part of a trip by congressmen to the Indo-Pacific region.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that as of 5 p.m. Sunday, 22 Chinese military planes and six navy ships had been spotted in the surrounding areas of Taiwan that day, of which 11 Chinese military planes had crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan’s air defense zone.

After the so-called large-scale military exercises, Chinese fighter jets also cross the center line of the Taiwan Strait every day.

Responsible editor: Wu Hao