Latest US delegation to Taiwan includes eight members of Congress
- Bipartisan trip led by Representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida is confirmed by Taiwan’s foreign ministry after it arrives unannounced
- Group is the sixth US political delegation to visit in five weeks, when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to Taipei, provoking Beijing
Another US congressional delegation has arrived in Taiwan on a previously unannounced visit certain to irk Beijing.
Representative Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat who is vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on intelligence and special operations led an eight-member group to Taiwan late on Wednesday.
Murphy is leading the sixth US political delegation – and the fourth congressional delegation – to have visited Taiwan since August 2, when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived with one.
Unlike previous visits by congressional colleagues who flew on US military administrative aircraft, Murphy and her group boarded a commercial flight from South Korea, landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
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“During their stay in Taiwan, Vice Chair Murphy and other delegation members will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen; visit William Koo, secretary general of the National Security Council; and have a banquet with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a late-night statement.
“They will exchange views on US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and economic issues,” it said.
The American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial US office in Taipei in the absence of formal ties, said that the group, whose visit came as part of a larger tour of the Indo-Pacific region, would also discuss supply chains and other significant issues of mutual interest during their stay, which is expected to end on Friday.
Murphy’s bipartisan group includes fellow Democratic Representative Kaiali’i Kahele of Hawaii and six Republican representatives: Scott Franklin and Kat Cammack of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Andy Barr of Kentucky, Darrell Issa of California and Claudia Tenney of New York.
Beijing regards Taiwan a renegade province, to be reunited with the mainland eventually, by force if necessary.
Since Pelosi made her high-profile visit to Taiwan on August 2, three more congressional delegations have travelled there despite protests by Beijing, which was particularly enraged by Pelosi’s trip, seeing it as a “provocation” and violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Pelosi, leader of the House of Representatives, is the highest-level US politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years, when a predecessor speaker, Newt Gingrich, travelled there.
After Pelosi’s trip, Beijing staged an unprecedented 10 days of war games from August 4 encircling Taiwan and firing 11 ballistic missiles, including four that crossed over the island.
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A large number of People’s Liberation Army warplanes and warships also crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait that separates the island and the mainland, further ramping up pressure on Taipei.
Two governors of US states – Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Doug Ducey of Arizona – also led visiting delegations following Pelosi’s trip.
