The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said on Saturday that the delegation will be heading to Taipei after the inauguration of William Lai Ching-te who won Taiwan’s presidential election.
“In order to emphasize the continuous commitment of the Congress to security and democracy, I ask the heads of House committees to travel to Taipei in the form of a delegation”, Johnson wrote on his X media account.
The announcement came hours after US President Joe Biden, while on his way to Camp David, said Washington does not support Taiwan's independence, a reference to Lai’s campaign pledge.
Ahead of the presidential vote in Taiwan, however, the US government had warned against any interference in the election process “by any country” without naming China– which claims Taiwan as part of its territory under the One China principle– and had asked the Taiwanese people not to vote for Lai.
Ahead of the election, China also declared that Lai’s victory would be a threat to peace in the region and called the island's election a choice between war and peace.
This week, China also reiterated its firm opposition to any official contact between the United States and Taipei.
“There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. China firmly opposes the US having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on Wednesday.
MP/IRN