‘I’m not going to be bullied’ by China, says US lawmaker Elissa Slotkin after Taiwan visit
- The congresswoman says it is crucial that the US rallies allies to solve the semiconductor shortage and compete with the global superpower
- Slotkin says her office received a ‘blunt’ email from the Chinese embassy urging her not to visit Taiwan, but she and her colleagues decided to go anyway
Fresh off a trip to Taiwan despite admonishment from the Chinese government, US congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said it was crucial that the United States rallied allies to solve the semiconductor shortage and compete with the global superpower.
The Democrat joined four other members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee – chair Mark Takano of California, Colin Allred of Texas, Sara Jacobs of California and Nancy Mace of South Carolina – on the bipartisan trip, tacked on Thursday and Friday to a Thanksgiving visit to US troops in South Korea and Japan.
Slotkin said her office received a “blunt” email from the Chinese embassy Thursday urging her not to visit Taiwan, which has a democratic government and insists it is not a part of any other nation. She and the other members decided to go anyway, she said, with the backing of the State Department and the Department of Defence.
“I’m not going to be bullied,” Slotkin said, adding that the visit underscored the need for a more comprehensive plan to counter China on the global stage.
“What I want to do is make sure that we have a real strategic plan to deal with their bullying, and that’s what I’m going to be urging the administration to do,” she said.