April 14, 2022
No. 085
A delegation led by United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Committee on the Budget, arrived for a two-day visit to Taiwan on April 14 on a US military aircraft. The delegation includes five other members of Congress: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; Senator Robert Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE); and Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) warmly welcomes this visit to Taiwan by the prominent US Congressional delegation led by Senator Graham.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu greeted the delegation at the airport on the evening of April 14 on behalf of the Taiwan government. The delegation will call on President Tsai Ing-wen, attend a reception hosted by Minister Wu, and meet with Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng. They will engage in in-depth exchanges with Taiwanese officials on important issues in Taiwan-US relations.
This is the first US Congressional delegation to visit Taiwan this year. As the US Congress has gradually resumed overseas trips, Senator Graham organized this delegation to Asia and included Taiwan as a priority destination. This demonstrates the high level of importance attached and staunch support extended to Taiwan by members of the US Congress across all party lines.
The delegates are senior leaders of the US Senate and House of Representatives, hailing from the Senate Committees on the Budget; Foreign Affairs; Homeland Security; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Finance; as well as the House Committee on Armed Services. Senator Graham contested for Republican nomination in the 2016 US presidential election. In 2019, he and Senator Menendez cosponsored and cosigned the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, respectively. This act reaffirmed the US commitment to Taiwan’s security and urged the US administration to make regular arms sales to Taiwan and encourage high-level officials to visit Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Travel Act. Senators Graham, Menendez, and Burr are members of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, and Representative Jackson is a member of the House Taiwan Caucus. Senators Portman and Sasse have cosigned multiple Congressional resolutions, joint letters, and initiatives that are supportive of Taiwan.
The fact that the US Congress organized this delegation despite the ongoing Ukraine crisis underscores the US’s solid support for and commitment to Taiwan. This visit by Senator Graham and other prominent Congress members will certainly further enhance the close friendship between Taiwan and the United States and deepen their global partnership in various domains. (E)