ANOTHER US politician lands in Taiwan: Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn
Sen. Marsha Blackburn landed in Taiwan’s capital Taipei Thursday night on board a U.S. military aircraft, marking the fourth U.S. lawmaker visit to the island democracy in a matter of weeks.
The move is sure to draw more fire from Beijing who views visits from U.S. officials as recognition of Taiwan’s autonomy.
Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who sits on the Senate‘s Commerce and Armed Services Committees, was one of a number of GOP senators who supported House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s controversial Taiwan visit last month.
‘I just landed in Taiwan to send a message to Beijing — we will not be bullied,’ Blackburn said in a tweet as she touched down. ‘The United States remains steadfast in preserving freedom around the globe, and will not tolerate efforts to undermine our nation and our allies.’
Sen. Marsha Blackburn landed in Taiwan’s capital Taipei Thursday night on board a U.S. military aircraft, marking the fourth U.S. lawmaker visit to the island democracy in a matter of weeks
Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who sits on the Senate’s Commerce and Armed Services Committees, was one of a number of GOP senators who supported House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial Taiwan visit last month
‘I just landed in Taiwan to send a message to Beijing — we will not be bullied,’ Blackburn said in a tweet as she touched down’
Prior to the Taiwan visit, she had traveled to Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands in another show of force against China.
‘In Papua New Guinea, I met with Secretary of Defense Akipe and Deputy Chief of Defense Force Commodore Polewara focused on expanding our strategic relationship. We know the CCP wants one thing – global domination. We must stand united against it,’ she wrote in a tweet.
No other lawmakers joined the senator on her trip. In a statement, she called China the ‘Axis of Evil.’
‘It’s time we focus on rewarding Taiwan’s commitment to democratic values and ensure they have the necessary resources to combat Communist China and the New Axis of Evil. That’s why I’m in Taiwan,’ she wrote on Twitter.
Blackburn’s visit to Taiwan is the latest in what has become a trend on Capitol Hill.
In mid-Augusta group of lawmakers led by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., including Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., Don Beyer, D-Va., and Amata Radewagen, R- American Samoa, traveled to the island.
Days ago Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb led a group of state officials to the democratically governed island.
Pelosi was the first to rile up China with her visit to Taiwan, accompanied by Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., Suzanne DelBene, D-Wash., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Mark Takano, D-Calif.
Since the visit China told the U.S. it was ‘playing with fire’ by allowing Pelosi, who they claimed was the third most powerful official, to visit the island.
China claims that such visits infringe on America’s One China policy, which states the U.S. acknowledges the Beijing government as the sole government of China. The U.S. has long practiced strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan’s defense, not saying whether it would intervene if conflict were to break out with China.
Taiwan lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims the democratic island as part of its territory to be seized one day – by force if necessary.
Beijing lashes out at any diplomatic action that might lend Taiwan legitimacy. It has responded with growing fury to visits by Western officials and politicians, and held its largest-ever show of its military strength in the air and seas around Taiwan – including the firing of ballistic missiles – since Pelosi’s visit.
Four Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Monday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said, hours after Indiana’s governor met the island’s president in another show of defiance against Beijing.
President Xi’s Chinese Communist Party has fired warnings toward the U.S. for sending lawmakers to Taiwan
The jets crossed the median line – which serves as an unofficial barrier – as China continues to escalate its military activities near the self-ruled island.
That meeting came days after Washington announced trade talks with Taipei in a show of support following China’s military threats towards the island.
Taiwan lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims the democratic island as part of its territory to be seized one day – by force if necessary.
Beijing lashes out at any diplomatic action that might lend Taiwan legitimacy. It has responded with growing fury to visits by Western officials and politicians, and held its largest-ever show of its military strength in the air and seas around Taiwan – including the firing of ballistic missiles – since Pelosi’s visit.
