US Senator Marsha Blackburn on Thursday became the latest member of Congress to visit Taiwan, defying pressure from Beijing, saying: “I will not be intimidated by Communist China into turning away from the island.”
The trip by Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, follows a series of recent visits by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other US officials.
“Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific region. Regular high-profile visits to Taipei have been a long-standing US policy,” Blackburn said in a statement Thursday.
The visit by Pelosi, who earlier this month became the highest-ranking US official to land on the island in 25 years, was cited by Beijing as the trigger for several days of large-scale military exercises in which China fired missiles. over Taiwan and flew waves of warplanes into its air defense identification zone.
The Communist Party of China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory, despite never having ruled it, and has refused to rule out the use of force to control it.
The US has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is required by law to provide the island with defensive weapons and has intentionally remained ambiguous about whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
In tweets Friday morning, the US senator, who does not represent the Biden administration, reiterated her support for Taiwan.
“I will never bow to the Chinese Communist Party,” she said. “I will continue to support the Taiwanese and their right to freedom and democracy. Xi Jinping doesn’t scare me,” she later added, referring to China’s leader.
Meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday morning, Blackburn stressed the values of democracy and freedom, which she said Washington shares with Taiwan.
“It is really important that freedom-loving nations support Taiwan as they seek to support the preservation of their independence and freedom,” Blackburn said.
Tsai said recent visits by US public figures “reinforced Taiwan’s determination to defend itself”.
“We look forward to continuing to help and support Taiwan as it moves forward as an independent nation,” said Blackburn.
Under the long-standing “One China” policy, the US recognizes Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the autonomous island of 23 million people.
The US senator will also meet National Security Council Secretary General Wellington Koo and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu during her three-day visit, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
China did not immediately comment on Blackburn’s visit, but made clear its anger since Pelosi’s visit at the military exercises and statements saying the actions of US politicians and government policies are threatening the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
China’s Foreign Ministry condemned Pelosi for what it described as her “cruel and provocative actions”, saying her trip to Taiwan meant “seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs”.
“US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan in disregard of China’s serious concerns and firm opposition, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, seriously undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously trampling on the principle of one China and seriously threatening peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the ministry said.
Gladys Tsai in Taipei and Alex Stambaugh in Hong Kong contributed to this story.
Source: CNN Brasil
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