The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said on Saturday that the delegation will be heading to Taipei after the inauguration of William Lai Ching-te who won Taiwan’s presidential election.
“In order to emphasize the continuous commitment of the Congress to security and democracy, I ask the heads of House committees to travel to Taipei in the form of a delegation”, Johnson wrote on his X media account.
The announce came hours after US President Joe Biden, while on his way to Camp David, said Washington does not support Taiwan's independence, a reference to Lai’s campaign pledge.
Ahead of the presidential vote in Taiwan, however, the US government had warned against any interference the election process “by any country” without naming China– which claims Taiwan as part of its territory under the One China principle– and had asked the Taiwanese people not to vote for Lai, calling him “a dangerous separatist”.
Lai from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Taiwan's election attaches great importance due to its disputed situation as China claims its sovereignty over the island and wants to link it with the mainland and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve its goal.
'No nexus with Taiwan'
Ahead of the election, China also declared that Lai’s victory will be a threat to peace in the region and called the island's election a choice between war and peace.
This week, China also reiterated its firm opposition to any official contact between the United States and Taipei, urging Washington to stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces in the self-ruled island.
“There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. China firmly opposes the US having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular press conference on Wednesday, a day after Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US met with the US House speaker.
Ning also stressed that an attempt by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to solicit support from the US and other countries for “Taiwan independence” will not succeed.
Almost all world countries, including the US, recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. But over the past many years, Washington has been courting Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.
The Chinese government strongly opposes other countries pursuing official and diplomatic ties with Taipei and has consistently warned the US and other states against engaging with the self-proclaimed government in Taipei.
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