More US lawmakers arrive in Taiwan amid tensions with China

Amber CoakleyAugust 15, 2022

Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen is pictured. (Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo)

OAN Newsroom
Updated 11:38 AM PT – Monday, August 15, 2022

A five member congressional delegation group met with Taiwan’s president. The bipartisan group, led by Democrat Sen. Ed Markey (R-Mass.), spoke with Tsai Ing-wen on Monday.

Their talks have focused on stability in the Taiwan Strait, US-Taiwan relations, trade and investment, regional security and other issues. The President stressed that the island is committed to maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, while pointing to current world events that some suggest could foreshadow Taiwan’s future.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year has highlighted the dangers that authoritarian states pose to the world order,” stated Ing-wen. “Not long ago, China conducted a long-term military exercise in the waters surrounding Taiwan, which also seriously disrupted regional stability and peace.”

This visit comes nearly two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited the country and as China continues to conduct military drills around the island. In the meantime, the US still maintains its One-China policy, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the sole government of China.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference, Friday, April 29, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Meanwhile, members of Taiwanese Parliament are demanding government officials explain if Pelosi’s family has any business on the island. In a recent formal filing, Taiwan’s opposition party whip demanded a government disclosure about any of its potential business dealings with Paul Pelosi Jr. It also asks for the city of Taipei to explain whether Pelosi’s recent visit involved any business interests in Taiwan. This comes as Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party is coming under fire for jeopardizing the island’s sovereignty for partisan interests.

“Tsai Ing-wen does seem to be gaining a lot in terms of notoriety as well as wide support from the so-called Western partners,” said Joanna Lei, Taiwanese politician and international relations expert. “However, people in Taiwan, especially those who are opposed to her policy or her administrative measures, have now been sacrificed. With Nancy Pelosi coming to Taiwan touting the achievements of the DPP government, it’s stamping on all the hopes and dreams of the people who are still fighting those injustice measures.”

This comes after Fox News and the Daily Mail reported Paul Pelosi Jr. is invested in lithium business in Taiwan or in China after he accompanied the House Speaker on her contentious trip. Taiwanese politicians say if any of this is true then the island’s security was put at stake for Pelosi’s business interests.