US Congressional Delegation Arrives in Taiwan for National Day Celebration

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) leaves a House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 27, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A U.S. congressional delegation has arrived in Taiwan to meet with senior Taiwanese officials and participate in the island’s National Day celebrations on Oct. 10.

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) led the delegation, which arrived in Taiwan on Oct. 6 for a six-day visit, according to a press release from Taiwan’s foreign ministry. Lesko is joined by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Carol Miller (R-W.Va.).

Their trip “demonstrates the U.S. Congress’ firm support for Taiwan and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the ministry said.

The three lawmakers are scheduled to meet Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, who was the island’s top representative to the United States from July 2020 to November 2023.

Talks between the two sides will focus on U.S.–Taiwan relations, regional security, and economic and energy policies, according to the ministry.

The ministry said the delegation’s visit is important given that the Chinese regime has continued to use “gray zone” tactics to undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and it has frequently taken measures to isolate the island from the international community. Gray zone operations are actions designed to stay below the threshold of triggering military conflict, but create political pressure for Taipei to give in to Beijing’s demands.

On Oct. 7, the U.S. delegation met with Taiwanese National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu at the Presidential Office Building, according to Radio Taiwan International. The outlet reported that the visiting U.S. lawmakers told Wu that there is bipartisan congressional support for Taiwan and agreed that the island plays a major role in regional and global peace and stability.

Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China (ROC), will celebrate its 113th birthday on its National Day, which is also dubbed the Double Ten Day. The highlight of the event will be Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s keynote address.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan is a province of China.

One of the CCP’s gray zone operations has been near-daily air incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, which is a state’s publicly declared national airspace. On Oct. 7, Taiwan’s defense ministry announced that it had spotted 19 Chinese planes entering the island’s ADIZ in the previous 24 hours.

Taiwan’s diplomatic allies will also send representatives to Taiwan’s National Day celebration. According to the island’s foreign ministry, the representatives include Belizean Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde, Vincentian Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel, and Alvina Reynolds and Claudius J. Francis, the speakers of Saint Lucia’s upper and lower houses, respectively.

Taiwan

Biggs and Miller are visiting Taiwan for the first time, while Lesko visited the island in 2016 as part of a U.S. state-level delegation, according to Taiwan’s foreign ministry.

In 2023, Lesko was one of the co-sponsors of a House resolution calling on the Biden administration to end the “one China” policy and formally recognize Taiwan’s status as an independent nation.

The United States has maintained the “one China” policy since 1979, in which it recognizes the CCP as the sole entity governing China.

Meanwhile, the United States has maintained a nondiplomatic relationship with Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relations Act.

The TRA authorizes the United States to supply Taiwan with military equipment for the island’s self-defense. The TRA also calls for the establishment of a nonprofit corporation called the American Institute in Taiwan, which is now the de facto U.S. Embassy on the island.

Lesko’s 8th Congressional District is home to two Phoenix-based advanced factories being built by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Taiwan’s largest contract chipmaker. One of the manufacturing plants will begin mass production in the first half of 2025 using the 4-nanometer process, TSMC announced in April.

In April 2021, Biggs and Miller both spoke out in favor of Taiwan participating in the World Health Organization. Taiwan is excluded from the health agency and other international organizations due to Beijing’s opposition.

“Today and every day, #Taiwan deserves a seat at the table when it comes to global health security,” Miller wrote on social media platform X. “Taiwan should be included in the upcoming World Health Assembly.”

“It’s absurd that Beijing is blocking Taiwan’s participation in a global health forum for no other reason than spite,” Biggs wrote on X at the time.

Taiwan has also accused China of poaching its diplomatic allies. Since 2016, Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies, including Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru.

After Nicaragua broke off ties with Taiwan and recognized China in 2021, Biggs took to X to say that “America stands with Taiwan.”

“It’s disappointing to see that Nicaragua has chosen to side with the authoritarian communist regime in China over the free people of Taiwan,” Biggs wrote at the time. “The Nicaraguan government has thrown away a strong ally and friend in the free people of Taiwan.”

Taiwan now has 12 remaining diplomatic allies, including Eswatini, Haiti, Paraguay, and the Vatican.