Original title: U.S. congressmen visited Taiwan on a military transport plane, announcing the donation of 750,000 doses of new crown vaccine to Taiwan
(Observer Network News) As Taiwan’s new crown epidemic continues to worsen, US Senators Tammy Duckworth, Dan Sullivan and Chris Coons (Chris Coons) at 6 At 7 o’clock in the morning on the 6th, a US C-17 transport plane flew to Taipei Songshan Airport. The delegation is expected to stay for three hours. Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen met with the three at the Taiwan Air Force Songshan Command.
According to “United News Network”, Duckworth said in a speech on the 6th that after discussions with the White House, the United States will donate 750,000 doses of the new crown vaccine to Taiwan.
However, Taiwan media did not report when the vaccine will arrive in Taiwan. Previously, public opinion on the island had rumored that three congressmen might bring vaccines and other anti-epidemic supplies to Taiwan this time.
Three U.S. Senators board the U.S. C-17 on the 6th morningThe transport plane arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport. Source: United News Network
The White House just announced a global distribution plan for the first batch of 25 million new crown vaccines, including Taiwan. Duckworth claimed that Taiwan’s inclusion in the first batch of donations is “essential” to the United States. The United States understands Taiwan’s “urgent needs”. They will meet with Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen on the morning of the 6th to learn more. Taiwan’s needs and bring this information back to Washington.
According to the “ETtoday News Cloud” report, Sullivan, one of the congressmen who visited Taiwan, wore a mask with the words “Love from Taiwan” printed on Taiwan’s donation to the United States last year, saying that today it was replaced with “Love from America”. Love)”.
According to Taiwan media reports, the three US senators were originally scheduled to participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this time, but the meeting was cancelled due to the epidemic. These senators immediately decided to visit South Korea and Taiwan to “understand the situation in Taiwan and express support and concern.” In addition, in the process of Taiwan’s fight for the release of the vaccine from the United States, these three congressmen have also “made a lot of effort.”
The head of Taiwan’s foreign affairs department, Wu Zhaoxie, went to the airport to greet him. Source: China Times NewsThe delegation is composed of cross-party congressmen, including Democratic and Republican federal senators. Among them, Duckworth and Sullivan are both members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. They have voted for Taiwan-related bills in the U.S. Congress many times. Koons is a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and also the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and the Appropriation Committee, State Department and Diplomatic Operations. Chairman of the group, and co-sponsor of the “Taiwan Guarantee Act” and the “Taipei Act”.
It is worth noting that the delegation took off from Osan Air Force Base in South Korea on a C-17 strategic transport plane. Taiwan media said that this was the first time that a US congressman flew to Taiwan on a US Air Force C-17 strategic transport plane, and it was also the first of Songshan Airport. A U.S. military strategic transport aircraft visited.
The foreign affairs department of the Taiwan authorities issued a press release on the 5th, claiming that the delegation will exchange views with the Taiwan authorities on various important issues such as so-called “Taiwan-US relations” and “regional security” during their stay in Taiwan.
However, Chen Yixin, a public opinion representative from the Kuomintang, believes that this visit is a “routine visit” to the Asia-Pacific region by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. It is to examine the United States‘ “Indo-Pacific strategy and layout” and is not an important breakthrough in the so-called “Taiwan-US relations.” In addition, the visit was only a few hours away, and Tsai Ing-wen had to meet at the airport. The arrangement could not highlight the importance of Taiwan.
Yan Zhensheng, a researcher at the Center for International Relations at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, believes that Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the airport in person shows that Taiwan’s “posture is a bit low.”
Taiwan’s new crown epidemic continued to spread. The Taiwan Epidemic Command Center announced on June 5 that Taiwan had 511 new confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia and 37 new deaths on that day. The number of deaths in a single day reached a new high.
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