Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) has sent a high-level delegation to Washington, led by Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言), to meet with US officials and think tanks, the KMT said.
Less than a month after US President Donald Trump took office, KMT lawmakers and representatives are to meet with Trump administration officials, US congressional members and various think tanks to discuss issues of mutual concern between Taiwan and the US, the party said.
The delegation would ensure the new administration understands the KMT’s stance on international affairs, national defense and cross-strait policies, it said.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
While no specific date was provided by the party, a local media outlet said the delegation arrived today.
The delegation would also partake in a defense exercise focused on Indo-Pacific security hosted by a US think tank, it added.
Joining the delegation are KMT Legislator Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康), International Affairs Department director Alexander Huang (黃介正) and assistant director of international affairs Howard Shen (沈正浩), as well as National Sun Yat-sen University professor Andrew Yang (楊念祖) and the party's representative to the US, Victor Chin (秦日新).
The delegation includes three former deputy defense ministers and a member of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which demonstrates Chu’s commitment to national security and Taiwan-US relations, Shen said.
After the defense exercise, Huang would remain in Washington with Chin for further discussions, he added.
Meanwhile, Chu met with two US delegations yesterday afternoon in Taipei, one from the German Marshall Fund of the US under the Taiwan-US Policy Program and a second led by Jude Blanchette, director of the RAND China Research Center, to discuss US-Taiwan relations and energy-related issues.
The KMT would not be “troublemakers,” but would promote US-Taiwan cooperation, strengthen relations and contribute to regional peace and stability, Chu said to the US delegations.
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