A bipartisan group of House lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Thursday, marking the second time in as many weeks that a congressional delegation traveled to the island nation.
The delegation of lawmakers on this trip, set to depart on Friday, includes Reps. Mark Takano, Colin Allred, Elissa Slotkin, Sara Jacobs, and Nancy Mace.
Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, claims independence from China despite mainland insistence that it’s a territory under its jurisdiction. Taiwan has become one of the biggest issues straining U.S.-Chinese relations.
MISSILE TESTS BY RUSSIA AND CHINA SHOULD BE ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ FOR BIDEN, EXPERTS SAY
The lawmakers met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who said of the meeting, “Taiwan will continue to step up cooperation with the United States in order to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and to ensure peace and stability in the region,”NPR reported.
Slotkin said her office “received a blunt message from the Chinese Embassy, telling me to call off the trip,” when news of their latest stop on the trip to Asia was revealed publicly. “But just as with other stops, we’re here to learn about the region and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to our hosts, the Taiwanese,” she added. “I’m looking forward to an informative trip.”
The Michigan lawmaker’s office also received a letter from the embassy saying, “We strongly urge the Congresswoman immediately cancel the planned visit to Taiwan, and not to support and embolden separatist forces of ‘Taiwan independence,’ lest it cause huge damage to the China-US relations and the peace and stability of Taiwan Straits,” according to NBC News.
Takano described the U.S. commitment to Taiwan as “rock solid” and said it has “remained steadfast as the ties between us have deepened. Taiwan is a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in the world,” he added, per the outlet.
America’s posture toward the China-Taiwan conflict is one of “strategic ambiguity” — the U.S. government attempts to keep unclear how it would respond in a conflict between the two Chinas.
Sens. Mike Crapo, John Cornyn, Mike Lee, and Tommy Tuberville and Reps. Tony Gonzales and Jake Ellzey, all of whom are Republicans, traveled to Taiwan earlier this month. The Chinese Embassy also warned Ellzey’s office about the trip.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“To our knowledge, this type of language hasn’t been used with U.S. lawmakers before from the Chinese Embassy,” he said, according to Foreign Policy. “It wasn’t a threat, but urging us to cancel. They didn’t use the word ‘condemn,’ but it was pretty clear it was a condemnation of the trip.”
The United States has placed military forces in Taiwan for training purposes, Tsai confirmed last month, though she conceded the number of U.S. forces there “is not as many as people thought.”
