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Text by Liu Zixuan/Reporter
Six U.S. congressmen jointly signed a letter to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, urging her to meet with U.S. Vice President Lai Qingde next month on his way to and from Paraguay.
Lai Qingde will lead a delegation to attend the inauguration ceremony of Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Pena on August 15.
While U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Lai was expected to “transit through the U.S. on a round trip,” neither government disclosed Lai’s U.S. itinerary.
Photo: EPA-EFE
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany shared the letter Wednesday on messaging platform X, along with his Republican colleagues Andrew Ogles, Byron Donald, Buddy Carter, Scott Perry and Scott Perry. Te Dejales also signed the letter.
“We would like you to consider meeting him in person during this stopover,” the letter said.
According to reports, the U.S. Congress passed the “Taiwan Travel Act” supported by then U.S. Senator Harris in 2018 to encourage senior U.S. officials to hold high-level meetings with their Taiwanese counterparts.
“Mr. Jimmy Lai’s transit here in August will provide you with an important opportunity to take advantage of this law – and do as Vice President what you voted for as lawmakers.”
The letter condemned China for “recklessly provoking conflict across the Taiwan Strait” and continuing to use dollar diplomacy to limit Taiwan’s international space, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Meeting with Vice Chairman Lai will underscore the importance the United States attaches to the friendship with Taiwan and make it clear that Beijing’s interference in U.S. foreign policy is unwelcome,” the letter said.
“It will also help Taiwan solidify its remaining diplomatic partnerships and demonstrate that the (President Joe) Biden administration will not back down in the face of China’s growing belligerence and bullying,” it added.
In Taipei, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Yongjian said the government was grateful to U.S. lawmakers from across the party because they had long supported Taiwan.
He said that Taiwan and the United States are arranging Jimmy Lai’s itinerary to transit the United States, and will make an announcement after confirmation.
After Taiwan announced Jimmy Lai’s visit, China’s foreign ministry said it had lodged a formal protest with Washington “over any visit by Taiwan separatists” and expressed opposition to the US’s “connivance and support for … separatist activities”.
Blinken told reporters, “Given the distance traveled, it is very common to have a transfer station. It is completely in line with the convention.”
“There is no reason for the People’s Republic of China to use this transit as a pretext for provocative actions,” he added.
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