US Lawmakers Call On Pres. Biden To Visit Taiwan On Asia Trip

On May 12, nine U.S. Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives jointly sent a letter to President Joe Biden. They called on the President to visit Taiwan during his upcoming trip to Asia later this month, as a show of the US’ “Rock-solid commitment to Taiwan” amid the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying.

President Biden is expected to visit South Korea and Japan from the 20th to the 24th of May. This will be his first visit to Asia as president. Biden is to hold talks with his Korean and Japanese counterparts, as well as meet with the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, aka, QUAD, during his stay in Tokyo.

Initiated in 2007 by then Japan PM Shinzo Abe, QUAD is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.

The letter said that the representatives were troubled by indications that the administration might delay the delivery of weapons ordered by Taiwan because of the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as by the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s (Dai Qi) refusal to commit to Taiwan’s inclusion in the planned Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The letter’s co-authors think the Biden administration has so far not initiated the process of negotiating a free trade agreement with Taiwan. Such performances could give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a chance to believe that the United States has not taken its commitments to Taiwan seriously.

Amid increasing Chinese military intrusions around Taiwan, they called on President Biden to visit Taiwan in the spirit of the “Taiwan Travel Act”, and to discuss with President Tsai Ing-wen how to deepen the US-Taiwan security and economic partnership, to demonstrate the determination of the US to support Taiwan with effective actions.

The “Taiwan Travel Act”, is an act that was signed into law by Pres. Trump in March 2018, encouraging high-ranking US officials to visit Taiwan and meet with their counterparts.