A bipartisan House delegation said the United States would stand by the island in the face of pressure from China, drawing connections between Taiwan’s cause and Ukraine’s.
Visiting American lawmakers sought to assure Taiwan on Thursday that the United States would stand by it in the face of pressure from China, while warning that uncertainty over proposed new military aid for Ukraine could weaken U.S. efforts to deter Beijing from moving aggressively against the island democracy.
“America stands with Taiwan, and you can draw upon a deep reservoir of friendship and support from the United States Congress,” Representative Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican leading the bipartisan House delegation, told Taiwan’s president-elect, Lai Ching-te, who takes office in May.
The lawmakers also met with Taiwan’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen. Journalists in Taipei, the capital, were allowed to watch initial remarks in both meetings before being ushered out.
The five representatives in the delegation — all members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which Mr. Gallagher heads — are the latest in a recent succession of American visitors to voice support for Taiwan, at a time when leaders in Washington are also trying to shore up security support for Ukraine and Israel.
Over the years, Taiwan, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the United States, has often turned to U.S. lawmakers for backing, and the current divisions in Congress over aid for Ukraine have highlighted the influence they can have over the use of American power abroad.
Taiwan’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen, with Mr. Gallagher on Thursday.Credit…Ben Blanchard/Reuters