The new five-member delegation is visiting the autonomous island in an effort to “reaffirm U.S. support for Taiwan” and “promote stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait,” a Markey spokesman said in a communicated
The delegation includes Democratic Reps. John Garamendi, Alan Lowenthal and Don Beyer, and Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, the statement added.
The Markey-led group will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu during the visit, and will also hold talks with the Taiwanese Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on security and trade issues, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. .
The foreign ministry added that it warmly welcomed the delegation and thanked them for demonstrating strong US support for Taiwan despite escalating tensions with Beijing.
The senator’s spokesman said the delegation “will meet with elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests, including reducing tensions across the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors.”
China has yet to comment on the congressional visit.
The Chinese Communist Party, which rules China, considers Taiwan part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has long pledged to “reunify” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary. Before Pelosi’s visit, Beijing had repeatedly warned of dire consequences if the trip went ahead, even going so far as to warn US President Joe Biden that those who played with fire would “perish” for it.
During her trip to Taiwan, Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said the visit was intended to make it “unequivocally clear” that the US was “not going to abandon” the democratically-ruled island.
China responded to the speaker’s trip by launching military drills, which China’s Ministry of Defense said began with exercises both in the seas and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan. In addition to the drills, Beijing has canceled future phone calls between Chinese and US defense leaders, suspended bilateral climate talks and sanctioned Pelosi and her immediate family.
The White House has summoned China’s ambassador to condemn the military activities and underscore the US’s desire to avoid a crisis in the region. The White House has said there is no change to the US “One China” policy and that Washington recognizes the People’s Republic of China as China’s only legitimate government.
The US maintains close unofficial ties with Taiwan and is required by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons. But it remains deliberately vague about whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, a policy known as “strategic ambiguity.”
This story has been updated with additional background information.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Jeremy Herb, Wayne Chang and Rhea Mogul contributed to this report.