Two weeks after the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, the American delegation arrived in Taiwan again.
Reuters writes about it.
A delegation of the US Congress headed by Democratic Senator Ed Markey arrived on the island. He was joined by Democratic House members John Garamendi, Alan Lowenthal, Don Beyer and Amata Coleman Radewagen, who represents the Republican Party.
They will stay on the island for two days and hold a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen. The delegation will discuss US-Taiwanese relations, regional security, trade, investment and other issues.
Taiwanʼs presidentʼs office said the delegationʼs visit shows firm support for the United States amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait, where Chinaʼs military conducts exercises.
As the Global Times reports, the official representatives of China have already condemned the visit of the delegation. They stated that with the increasing intensity of American visits, the determination of the Peopleʼs Republic of China to "solve the Taiwan issue as soon as possible" is growing.
- On August 3, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan for an official one-day visit. She became the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. In protest, China imposed sanctions on Pelosi and began four days of military exercises surrounding Taiwan. After these exercises, it announced new ones and declared that they would be "regular" from now on. Taiwan said the latest drills were like a "rehearsal for taking over the island".
- On August 9, China announced the continuation of military exercises around Taiwan — during them, operations on "joint defense and joint blockade of the island" will be practiced.
- At the same time, the Taiwanese army began artillery exercises in preparation for the islandʼs defense against a possible Chinese attack.
- The day before, the Chinese government published the "White Book", which it issues every two years. It outlines the countryʼs defense strategy. In a separate newsletter, entitled "Taiwan Question and Chinaʼs Unification in the New Era", the Chinese authorities promote the thesis of the inevitability of "complete reunification of the motherland". Beijing emphasizes that it is "ready to create a wide space for peaceful reunification", but does not rule out a forceful scenario of capturing the island, noting that "non-peaceful means will be used as a last resort in a situation where there is no choice."
- On August 11, Taiwanʼs Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it does not agree with the "one country, two systems" model proposed by China.