US Congress set to affirm Taiwan ties

The letter appears to be unprecedented. No previous Chinese ambassador is known to have made such a direct lobbying effort to Congress to reject a legislative initiative involving Taiwan.

Yang also made reference to a possible meeting with members of Congress, but the Chinese Embassy's spokesman, Sun Weide (孫偉德), said he knew of no such meeting. Sun also denied knowledge of Yang's letter.

Meanwhile, a group of House members are expected to clarify US policy toward Taiwan when they visit Taipei next week to attend an international parliamentary exchange meeting that is expected to bring legislators from some 50 countries to the city.

Florida Democrat Robert Wexler, a co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, will lead the group and will present an address to the assembly at a luncheon with Vice President Annette Lu on Wednesday. In addition to Wexler, Ohio Republican Steve Chabot, another caucus co-chairman, will be part of the delegation, as will Gary Acker-man, a New York Democrat.

Congress reconvenes on Jan. 20.

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