A Taiwanese parliamentary delegation on Tuesday began three days of meetings with US officials in the US.
The delegation is led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), convener of the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee. It also includes KMT legislators Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), Yeh Yu-lan (葉毓蘭) and Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷).
They arrived in Washington on Sunday and met with several Taiwanese organizations on Monday.
Photo: CNA
On Tuesday, they met with US Representative Mario Diaz Balart, cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and discussed issues pertaining to regional security and negotiations regarding the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-century Trade, Chiang said.
The delegation was yesterday to meet with US representatives Chuck Fleischmann and Ben Cline, visit the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan, and hold discussions with Taiwan’s diplomatic and military representatives in the US.
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Chiang said the purpose of the visit was to “represent the voice” of the legislature and Taiwanese, including by building support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
The delegation’s meetings would also touch on closely watched issues such as security in the Taiwan Strait and national defense, as well arms sales to Taiwan, he said.
Today, the delegation members are to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, and then Los Angeles, where they are to meet with members of the US Congress in their home districts, said Chiang, who is a former KMT chairman.
During the tenures of Chiang and incumbent KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), the party has sought to boost its image as a “pro-US” party. On June 8, it reopened its liaison office in Washington, which had been closed since 2008.
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