The delegation includes Democratic Reps. John Garamendi, Alan Lowenthal and Don Beyer and Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, the statement added. The team led by Markey will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu during the visit and will also hold discussions with Taiwan’s parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense committee on security and trade issues , Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. . The foreign ministry added that it sincerely welcomed the delegation and thanked them for showing strong US support for Taiwan despite escalating tensions with Beijing. The senator’s spokesman said the delegation “will meet with elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests, including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investment in semiconductors.” China has yet to comment on the congressional visit. China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory, even though it has never controlled it, and has long vowed to “reunify” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary. Before Pelosi’s visit, Beijing had repeatedly warned of dire consequences should the trip go ahead – even going so far as to warn US President Joe Biden that those who played with fire would “perish” from it. During her trip to Taiwan, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the visit was intended to make it “unequivocally clear” that the US “will not abandon” the democratically-ruled island. China responded to the speaker’s trip by launching military exercises, which China’s defense ministry said began with exercises in both the seas and airspace around Taiwan. In addition to the drills, Beijing canceled future phone talks between Chinese and US defense leaders, suspended bilateral climate talks and imposed sanctions on Pelosi and her family. The White House summoned China’s ambassador to condemn the military activities and emphasize the US’s desire to avoid a crisis in the region. The White House said there is no change to the US “One China” policy and that Washington recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government of China. The US maintains close unofficial ties with Taiwan and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons. However, it remains deliberately vague about whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, a policy known as “strategic ambiguity.” This story has been updated with additional background information. CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Jeremy Herb, Wayne Chang and Rhea Mogul contributed to this report.
