House lawmakers visit Taiwan in show of support

House lawmakers focused on crafting U.S. strategy toward China arrived Thursday in Taiwan in a show of bipartisan support amid GOP stonewalling in Congress to address military aid to the island. 

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said in Taipei that deeper ties between the U.S. and Taiwan “will enhance peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

“Time and again Taiwan has shown the world how to stand up to the CCP’s bullying and not only survive, but thrive,” said Gallagher, who is retiring from Congress this year. 

“The United States stands with Taiwan.”

Congress has shown strong, bipartisan support for building up Taiwan’s defenses to deter and protect against a possible invasion by China. Experts have warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to put Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

While the U.S. doesn’t recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, it has maintained a policy of supporting the island to push back against Beijing’s efforts to isolate it economically, militarily and diplomatically.

Aid to Taiwan is included in a larger foreign aid package, but it has been held up in the House over GOP opposition, chiefly to money for Ukraine. The package includes more than $2 billion to backfill U.S. weapons stockpiles sent to Taiwan. 

Gallagher traveled to Taiwan along with the ranking member of the committee, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

The trip has drawn pushback from China, which views any interaction between international representatives and the Taiwanese authorities as a rejection of Beijing’s claims to the sovereignty of the island. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, in a Thursday response to the congressional visit, said, “China opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan authorities and rejects U.S. interference in Taiwan affairs in whatever form or under whatever pretext.”