US Senator Duckworth leads delegation to visit Taiwan

It was reported on May 30th, US Senator Duckworth led a delegation to visit Taiwan from May 30 to June 1. This is Senator Duckworth’s second visit to Taiwan in less than a year after she visited Taiwan on a military plane with Senators Sullivan in June last year. The delegation will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Premier Su Tseng-chang and Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will host a banquet. The two sides will have an in-depth exchange on various important issues in Taiwan-US relations.

Senator Duckworth is highly friendly to Taiwan and has repeatedly promoted or co-signed Taiwan friendly bills in the US Senate. For example, she introduced the “Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act of 2022” on May 26 to support and strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities. Duckworth and 51 other senators sent a letter to President Joe Biden in mid-May, calling for Taiwan to be included in the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” (IPEF). In July 2021, she and Senator Cornyn jointly co-sponsored the “Taiwan Partnership Act” to develop partnership between the US National Guard and Taiwan Army. The initiative has been included in the “2022 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act” through legislation.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that after US Senator Graham’s visit with heavyweight congressmen in April, Senator Duckworth once again led a delegation to visit Taiwan a month later, which shows the high regard and firm support of the US Congress and demonstrates the “rock-solid” support and commitment of US to Taiwan. It is believed that Senator Duckworth’s visit will help further deepen the close partnership between Taiwan and the US.