U.S. Senator Blackburn Meets With President Tsai Ing-wen

According to multiple media reports on August 26, Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, arrived in Taiwan on a U.S. military plane late on the 25th for a three-day visit. This is the third visit of U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan in August, following the visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who led a delegation to Taiwan on the 2nd. Then U.S. Senate Edward Markey, currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee, led a delegation to Taiwan on the 14th this month.

On the morning of 26th, Blackburn met with President Tsai Ing-wen. Blackburn remarked that she was very grateful to President Tsai for her warm reception and was looking forward to this wonderful visit. In her speech, President Tsai said that Blackburn has been an important and good friend of Taiwan since she served as a member of the House of Representatives. she was pleased to welcome Senator Blackburn to Taiwan at such a critical moment, showing strong support from the U.S. Congress for Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Senator Blackburn, a member of the bipartisan Senate Taiwan Caucus, has been a good friend to Taiwan. She supports a Taiwan-U.S. bilateral trade agreements and promoted censorship-free Mandarin language study in the U.S. provided by Taiwan. She advocates for Taiwan’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. In February 2020, she co-sponsored the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty (SOS) Act, and in July this year, she initiated the Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, which authorizes the administration to lend or lease defense articles to Taiwan. As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to conduct the military exercises and threatens regional security, members of Congress are once again demonstrating the United States’ firm support and commitment to Taiwan by visiting the island.

Before arriving in Taiwan, Blackburn’s delegation has visited Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea to understand the general concerns about the CCP, and she believes that “the Indo-Pacific region is the next frontier for the new axis of evil.”