U.S. House committee chair arrives in Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
04/06/2023 05:52 PM
Taipei, April 6 (CNA) Michael McCaul, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the United States House of Representatives, on Thursday said his visit to Taiwan is meant to send a signal to China that Taiwan has U.S. support.
Arriving in Taiwan on a U.S. government aircraft, McCaul and his delegation touched down at Taipei Songshan Airport around 11:15 a.m. and was welcomed by Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Yui (俞大㵢).
Immediately after landing in Taiwan, McCaul told reporters that his three-day visit is intended to send a signal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"Being here I think it sends a signal to the CCP that the United States supports Taiwan and we are going to harden Taiwan and we want them to think twice before invading Taiwan," he told reporters at the airport.
Asked if he thinks his visit could make already tense U.S.-China relations worse, McCaul did not directly answer the question, saying only that he received threatening texts from China before his trip which he called "intimidation."
He said during his stay in Taipei he will hold meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior officials on how to send weapon systems to Taiwan faster to make sure the country is prepared and has enough deterrence to stop aggression coming from "Communist China."
According to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), other than the meeting with the president which is set for Saturday, McCaul and his delegation are also scheduled to meet with Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other senior officials to exchange views on a number of issues of mutual interests.
Other members of the delegation include McCaul's colleagues, Republicans French Hill, Michael Lawler, Young Kim, Nathaniel Moran, Guy Reschenthaler, and Democrats Ami Bera and Madeleine Dean, MOFA said in a press release.
According to a press release issued by McCaul's office, the delegation will also meet with Taiwanese business leaders, as well as senior Taiwanese officials from the executive and legislative branches "to discuss ways the U.S. can strengthen our economic and defense relationship with Taiwan in the face of growing threats in the region."
The visit which will last until Saturday is part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy in the country, said in a separate press release.
In its press release, MOFA called McCaul a staunch supporter of Taiwan for years who has initiated and co-signed a number of Taiwan-friendly bills in the U.S. Congress.
McCaul had said publicly in February that he planned to lead a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in spring this year.
"I think it's important to show China that we support Taiwan as a deterrence," he said at the time.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/AW
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