After attending Memorial Day ceremonies in Alaska over the weekend, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan hopped on a jet and led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Taiwan, a visit meant to underscore America’s support for the Taiwanese people after the election and inauguration of President Lai Ching-te.
Taiwan held its election in January and inauguration of President Lai on May 20.
The lawmakers plan to meet with a number of officials while in Taiwan—including President Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, whose Democratic Progressive Party favors strong ties with the United States.
Sullivan, a Republican and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a retired colonel with 30 years of service in the Marine Corps Reserve. Co-leading the trip is U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a Democrat who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and is a member of both SASC and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Taiwan is feeling the pressure from increased threats from the People’s Republic of China but Lai is determined to remain independent.
“On this day [May 20, 1996], Taiwan’s first democratically elected president took the oath of office, conveying to the international community that the Republic of China Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation in which sovereignty lies in the hands of the people,” Lai said in his inaugural address.
“On this day in 2024, having completed our third transition of political power, Taiwan officially commences, for the first time, the third consecutive term of the same political party in office. We also set sail into a new era that is full of challenges, yet also brimming with limitless hope,” he said. Read Lai’s full speech at this link.
Sullivan has long been a supporter of democracy in Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist government of the People’s Republic of China claims as its own. President Joe Biden in January said “We do not support independence,” when asked his reaction to the election in Taiwan.
“We’re here in Taiwan to demonstrate to the world that the United States stands firm with the island democracy of Taiwan and to congratulate the Taiwanese people on another successful election and transfer of power,” said Senator Sullivan. “In these increasingly dangerous times, it is critical that America show steady, unwavering bipartisan commitment and resolve in support of Taiwan’s democracy and—critically—we must work with our allies to enhance cross-strait deterrence now. Today, Taiwan is considered one of the freest places in the world. Every Taiwan election threatens the central premise of the Chinese Communist Party—that one person ruling in perpetuity knows what’s best for 1.4 billion people. This is a giant vulnerability for the Chinese Communist Party’s rule.”
After Taiwan, Sullivan will stop in Singapore to participate in the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Shangri-la Dialogue, which is one of Asia’s premier global international security and defense summits.
The picture of Sullivan is classic neo con, the vassal state leader paying homage to a permanent state representative, supporting “democracy”. Our Senator had to step over the mass of homeless, many who are veterans of previous failed wars, and drive past the jails filled with political opponents to his regime which occupies Washington, on his way to the airport. Did he swing by the kangaroo court attempting to silence the leading opponent to the regime? No, he emphasis the need for “bi partisanship” within his Uniparty. To support the next neo con priority project of death and destruction, while the Ukraine project goes down in flames. While our country is literally overrun with foreign, unvetted foreigners, Sullivan’s view of national security is to ramp up tensions as logistically far as feasible, to defend another foreign border to a made up country that the US officially recognizes as part of China.
Anyone seen Princess lately?
Senator Sullivan may be showing support for the new president of Taiwan, but does anyone know whether the Biden administration will actually stand against a CCP invasion of the island? If not, we can kiss the semiconductor manufacturing world goodbye because Taiwan is the world leader for those vital electronic components. One never knows what Biden’s policies are at a given moment. That leads to the thinly veiled contempt Biden garners around the world
I guess exporting our industry and technology to China the last 40 years was a bad idea. It’s better to manufacture semiconductors within the states, than to rely on a supposed critical supply from a foreign province located thousands of miles away that we officially recognize as part of a sovereign nation. China still enjoys most favored nation status and we rely on their goods. Russia is doing great using recycled washing machine chips in hypersonic missiles, for which we cannot intercept, alternatives are likely already here. Get our military out of Taiwan and protect our borders is best solution.
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