A second US delegation has arrived in Taiwan on an unannounced two-day visit. They are all set to meet Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen on Monday.
This is the second time that the delegation from the US Congress arrived in Taipei in a month, after Speaker House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the region, which created a huge uproar in China.
According to the Taiwanese media, the new five-member delegation arrived for the talks, but details of the meeting were not immediately released. The delegation was due to depart later Monday on a US government plane.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey, who is part of the delegation, in a statement, said that the US team is visiting “the self-governing island in an effort to reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan” and “will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait,” reports CNN.
The delegation includes Democratic Reps. John Garamendi, Alan Lowenthal and Don Beyer, and Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the delegation will meet with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and will also hold discussions with the Taiwanese parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence committee on security and trade issues, reports CNN.
It added hailed the visit as another sign of a friendship between Taipei and Washington “that is not afraid of China’s threats and intimidation”.
Following the legislators’ arrival, state news agency Xinhua published a commentary with the headline ‘US politicians should stop playing with fire on Taiwan question’.
“Those US politicians who are playing with fire on the Taiwan question should drop their wishful thinking,” the agency said.