Washington (August 26) : US Senator Marsha Blackburn arrived in Taiwan to make a surprise visit, marking the third American Congressional delegation to Taiwan this month, amid growing tensions with China Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou told reporters on Friday.Contrary to previous reports Blackburn is an independent Republican from Tennessee arrived late on Thursday night, without others members of Congress as reported by the DPA news agency.
In an official statement in a statement, the Foreign Ministry expressed appreciation to the US for its gesture of support in the face of rising tensions in the region as well as increasing demands from China.
It was said that Blackburn’s visit will to strengthen the Taiwan-US partnership.
On her arrival at the Taipei Songshan Airport, Blackburn was greeted by a top Foreign Ministry official, Douglas Yu-tien Hsu.
On Friday the president Tsai Ing-wen greeted Blackburn according to the state-owned Central News Agency said.
During her visit, Blackburn will conduct discussions about issues such as Taiwan-US trade and security relations with the Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, the Foreign Ministry said.
The American Institute in Taiwan said that Blackburn “will visit Taiwan between August 25 and 27 2022 as part of the larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region.
“Senator Blackburn will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss Taiwan-US relations as well as regional security investment and trade, Taiwan in the international community, and other important issues of mutual concern,” it added.
The visit of Blackburn follows recent visits by high-ranking US officials such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 2 and Senator Ed Markey on August 14 Both of which provoked a fury from Beijing.
The Chinese military carried out massive manoeuvres in Taiwan in the wake of Pelosi’s trip on the island.
Taiwan has been governed by an autonomous government since 1949 however China considers Taiwan to be a democratic as part of its territory and is opposed to any kind of official relations between Taipei and other countries.
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