Almost two weeks after the controversial visit to Taiwan by US top politician Nancy Pelosi, a US delegation traveled to the democratically governed island state. A five-person delegation led by Democratic Senator Ed Markey arrived in Taipei for a two-day visit, the Taipei State Department announced on Sunday. Accordingly, US politicians will also meet Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen.
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The Taiwan stop comes as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region, according to the American Institute in Taiwan. The meetings in Taiwan should therefore deal with relations between the USA and Taiwan, regional security, trade, global supply chains or climate change, it said.
In response to Pelosi’s visit, China had held large-scale military drills around Taiwan, including a possible conquest. The USA recently criticized this again. China overreacted,” a senior US official said on a phone call with journalists on Friday. The actions were “provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented”.
“China’s actions are contrary to the goal of peace and stability,” said the government official. It is part of a “pressure campaign” against Taiwan that has not yet ended. “We expect that it will continue in the coming weeks and months.” The aim is to intimidate Taiwan and undermine the resilience of the democratic island republic
The Chinese leadership rejects official contacts from other countries to Taiwan because they see the island as part of the People’s Republic. On the other hand, Taiwan has long seen itself as independent. (dpa)
