Latest U.S. lawmaker delegation arrives in Taiwan

Reuters

Published Sep 07, 2022 10:03AM ET

Updated Sep 07, 2022 09:21PM ET

TAIPEI (Reuters) -A delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday on a previously unannounced trip, the latest group of senior officials from the country to visit the island and defy Beijing, which has reacted with anger to such exchanges.

The de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said the eight lawmakers, led by Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat from Florida who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, would be staying until Friday as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.

"The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, and other significant issues of mutual interest," it added.

Taiwan's presidential office said they would meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday morning.

"This is the sixth visiting U.S. delegation after China's military exercises in early August, once again demonstrating the high importance and support that the United States attaches to Taiwan, from local governments to the federal government, from the executive branch to the congressional branch," it said in a statement.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, dismissing the strong objections of the government in Taipei.

China carried out war games last month near Taiwan following a trip to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and has continued its military activities around the island since then.

Other U.S. lawmakers have come since Pelosi's trip, as well as the governor of the U.S. state of Arizona.

Taiwan's top representative in Washington Hsiao Bi-khim has said Beijing's aggression in the wake of Pelosi's visit had spurred interest from parliaments around the world to send visitors to the island.