The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet with senior leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade, investment and other issues, the American Taiwan Institute said. The institute represents the US government, which has no official ties to Taiwan. He described the delegation’s stop in Taipei as part of a wider visit to the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan’s presidential office said the team will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday morning. Taiwan’s presidential office says the US congressional team will meet on Monday with President Tsai Ing-wen, seen here in Taipei on December 29, 2017. (Fabian Hamacher/Reuters) “Especially at a time when China is increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and in the area with military exercises, Markey as the head of the delegation to visit Taiwan once again shows the steadfast support of the United States Congress to Taiwan,” the report said. office in statement. China’s embassy in Washington said Sunday that “members of the US Congress should act in accordance with the US government’s ‘one China policy’” and argued that the congressman’s latest visit “proves once again that the US does not they want to see stability in the Taiwan Strait and spare no effort to provoke confrontation between the two sides and interfere in China’s internal affairs.” Markey’s office said lawmakers in Taiwan “will reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US-China joint communiques and the Six Assurances, and will encourage cross-strait stability and peace of Taiwan”.
Discussions on “common interests”
The group 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,” Markey’s office said. The delegation made an earlier stop in South Korea, where Markey met with South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol. A Taiwanese broadcaster showed video of a US government plane landing around 7pm local time on Sunday at Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. While it was not confirmed who was on board, the American Institute issued a brief statement shortly after announcing that the delegation would be in Taiwan on Sunday and Monday as part of a trip to Asia. The other members of the delegation are the Republican Dem. China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, responded to Pelosi’s Aug. 2 visit by sending missiles, warships and warplanes into the seas and skies around Taiwan for several days of military exercises. The Chinese government opposes Taiwan’s official contact with foreign governments, particularly a senior congressional leader like Pelosi. Chinese warplanes are crossing the middle of the Taiwan Strait every day, even after military exercises have ended, with at least 10 doing so on Sunday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said. The 10 fighter jets were among 22 Chinese military aircraft and six navy ships spotted in the area around Taiwan by 5pm on Sunday, the ministry said on its Twitter account.
