What is the purpose of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan?
The US embassy in Taiwan has announced that the panel will consist of Mark Takano, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Colin Allard, Alyssa Slatkin, Sarah Jacobs and Nancy Miss, according to the US-based Hill Analytical News website.
The statement said the US legislature will meet with Taiwan’s top leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security and other important bilateral issues of interest. They are scheduled to leave Taiwan on Friday.
Taiwan’s official central news agency has previously said the trip is expected to focus on meeting with defense officials as well as Taiwanese President Tsai Ying-wen.
The five lawmakers are scheduled to be in East Asia for the next four days and travel to Japan and South Korea after Taiwan.
The US lawmakers’ visit comes after US President Joe Biden’s virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 15.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry yesterday also protested the US invitation to Taiwanese officials to attend the Virtual Democracy Summit and stated that it strongly opposes Washington’s decision.
“There is only one China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Li Jian said.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry added: “Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory and China is a unit of a universally recognized principle, and this principle governs international relations.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry official stressed that Taiwan has no place in international law unless it is part of China.
He warned Washington that playing with fire would eventually set the United States on fire.
Last month, the State Department announced the formation of a working group between the United States and Taiwan for a strong presence of Taiwan in international organizations.
In 1979, the United States formally recognized the policy of a united China; This year, the last US military base in Taiwan left the island.
The U.S. military later released a video in early 2020 showing U.S. forces training troops in Taiwan. In November 2020, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced that US forces were training indigenous troops on the island, but later denied this.
Although the United States formally recognized the one-China policy and severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 under three joint official declarations by Washington and Beijing, it still has an eye on the island and wants it as a card for pressure. Use on China; Especially during the time of former US President Trump, this situation intensified and tensions between the two countries over Washington’s relationship with Taiwan increased.
US President Joe Biden recently claimed that Washington has a strong commitment to Taiwan and that we are deeply concerned about China’s coercive actions.
The US Navy has also repeatedly crossed the Strait of Taiwan several times under the pretext of defending freedom of navigation in international waters and in support of Taiwanese separatists.
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