This past Sunday as part of an unannounced visit just a scant few days in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) setting off a massive controversy with China due to her trip to the now self-ruled island, a group of five American legislators have officially landed in Taiwan.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), served as the head of this new surprise delegation.
The other members that chose to go along with him included Reps. John Garamendi (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), and Don Beyer (D-VA), along with Republican Rep. Amata Radewagen of American Samoa.
UPDATE: The U.S. delegation’s flight landed in Taipei at 18:53 local time. AIT has confirmed that Senator @EdMarkey lead a congressional delegation (@RepLowenthal, @DonBeyerVA and @RepAmata) to Taiwan from Aug 14-15, as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region. 1/ pic.twitter.com/gXfbTZMgjZ
— Tingting Liu 劉亭廷 (@tingtingliuTVBS) August 14, 2022
This most recent visit took place in the wake of Markey’s visit to South Korea in order to reaffirm the U.S.-South Korean alliance. Markey met with Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean President, and many other national leaders as part of a Sunday stop in South Korea directly before making their way to Taiwan via a separate flight in order to join the other gathered lawmakers from the U.S.
“The U.S.-South Korea alliance is based on shared values and interests – from nuclear disarmament to the fight against climate change, and our commitment to this important relationship is stronger than ever,” explained Markey in a recent release.
“Through my meetings with President Yoon and other senior government officials, it was evident that our two countries are prepared to meet existential and pressing global challenges head-on. The size, diversity, and lethality of North Korea’s weapons continues to grow, as does its threat to our allies in the region. In my meetings and my visit to the DMZ, we discussed how to continue multilateral pressure and diplomatic efforts to reach a solution that ensures the American people and our allies are safe from a nuclear Kim regime,” he went on.
This particular American delegation over to Taiwan happens only 12 days after Pelosi’s highly controversial trip to the island. Officials for China screamed out threats at the U.S. ahead of the visit, and carried out military tests in a form of saber-rattling around Taiwan after her departure.
“Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” stated Pelosi as part of her visit with the president of Taiwan. “America’s determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains ironclad.”
Taiwan’s government recently scrambled its air reconnaissance patrol ships and forces in the wake of the Chinese government carrying out weapons tests and simulated invasions this past Saturday.
It has been reported by The Wall Street Journal that the government of Taiwan was able to tally up 14 Chinese ships and 20 planes in the Taiwan Strait. Fourteen of those plans actually crossed the imaginary median line into Taiwanese airspace, which spurred the military to action.
Old Uncle Joe spoke out about the retaliation while visiting eastern Kentucky to see the victims of recent floods.
“I’m not worried but I’m concerned that they’re moving as much as they are,” stated Biden. “But I don’t think they’re going to do anything more than they are.”
