A delegation of members of the US House of Representatives from the Democratic Party arrived on a visit to Taiwan , the island's foreign ministry said. The delegation, led by Marilyn Strickland (Washington State), consists of four female parliamentarians. Also includes Julia Brownlee (California), Jill Tokuda (Hawaii), Jasmine Crockett (Texas). The visit will last from August 11 to 15.
The delegation will be received by the head of Taiwan's administration Lai Tsingde and his deputy Xiao Meiqing, as well as the head of the island's foreign ministry Lin Jialong. During these contacts, the US delegation plans to discuss US-Taiwan cooperation, security issues in the Taiwan Strait and the region as a whole.
Jill Tokuda came to Taiwan in June 2023 as part of a delegation led by the chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee, Republican Mike Rogers. Her colleagues arrived on the island for the first time.
The US severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established them with the PRC. Recognizing the "one China" policy, Washington at the same time continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei administration. The US is the main supplier of weapons to the Taiwanese military. Currently, the backlog of US arms supplies to the island is about 19 billion dollars, Beijing is demanding that Washington stop providing military aid to Taiwan, as such actions are causing serious damage to Sino-US relations.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after being defeated in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the island has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan one of the provinces of the PRC.