US President Joe Biden has dispatched a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan. It arrives at a sensitive time for the global democratic community, as authoritarian powers become ever more belligerent.
President Tsai Ing-wen met with a special bipartisan delegation of senior US officials on Wednesday morning.
The visiting group includes the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen and the former deputy national security adviser on Iraq and Afghanistan Meghan O’Sullivan. The Director of the American Institute in Taiwan Sandra Oudkirk was also at Wednesday’s meeting. After a round of greetings, it was time to get down to business.
President Tsai said that US President Biden choosing to send a delegation to Taiwan at a time when the world’s attention is focused on the events in Ukraine shows not only the importance of US-Taiwan cooperation, but also the rock solid relations between the two countries. She also said the visit highlights Taiwan’s role in maintaining global and regional security, and the need for democratic societies to band together.
Tsai restated Taiwan’s condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and highlighted the fact that the country has joined international sanctions on Moscow as well as humanitarian efforts in the region.
President Tsai also talked about the growing military threat from China and its unceasing efforts to undermine Taiwan’s democracy.
Tsai said Taiwan wants to tell the world it is determined to defend itself and protect its democratic way of life. She said the Ukraine crisis tells us that positive action and cooperation between democratic countries is key.
President Tsai said that appeasing invaders only creates more threats down the road. The American delegation stressed that the United States will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo and support a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan Strait problem that conforms with the will and best interests of the Taiwanese people.