Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) has departed for Washington to attend a memorial service for US Senator John McCain on behalf of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Su is to attend two events in Washington for the long-time friend and supporter of Taiwan, accompanied by Representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰), the ministry said in a news release.
Su is to attend the lying-in-state ceremony at the US Capitol today and a national memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral tomorrow, the ministry said.
He is scheduled to return to Taipei on Monday, it said.
Su traveled at the invitation of the organizers of the events, who are members of the US Congress, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
“It is therefore befitting for the government to send Su to attend the memorial events and to say goodbye to a long-time friend of Taiwan on behalf of the government,” Lee said, adding that Su would convey President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) condolences to McCain’s family.
McCain passed away at age 81 on Saturday last week after a battle with brain cancer.
Tsai on Sunday expressed her deepest sympathy and condolences to the McCain family.
“I’ll remember John McCain as a friend & a fighter. He never backed down from his beliefs & forever strived for a more peaceful & prosperous world. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, thank you,” Tsai wrote on Twitter.
McCain was highly regarded by many in US politics and he shared a deep bond with Taiwan, endorsing many bills in Congress as concrete actions to support the nation and defend democracy around the world, Tsai said in a news release.
For the people of Taiwan, McCain’s death was “a great loss of an important friend of Taiwan” in the US, she said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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