Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) led a six-member group of U.S. lawmakers on a two-day visit to Taiwan this week, a visit that has sparked anger from Beijing.
Graham tweeted that the people of Taiwan are “great allies of the United States” and called Taiwan “a beacon of freedom in a troubled region.”
Who went to Taiwan? Graham along with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) landed in Taiwan’s Songshan Airport in Taipei on Friday.
China reacts: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in Beijing denounced the visit on Thursday, saying “China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan.”
“Relevant U.S. lawmakers should abide by the one-China policy upheld by the U.S. government. The U.S. should … stop official contacts with Taiwan, and avoid going further down the dangerous path,” Zhao said at a daily briefing.
“We will continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao said.
China’s military also announced it had conducted military drills around Taiwan on Friday as the two-day visit by the delegation of U.S. lawmakers was underway.
Recent fears over Taiwan: China cautioned the U.S. against supporting Taiwan and trying to build a Pacific version of NATO earlier this year amid the crisis in Ukraine, which is resisting a Russian invasion.
Moscow’s actions raised fears about the future of Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty.
More generally, worries about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan had stepped up over the last year.
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