US Representative Dana Rohrabacher, one of the most ardent pro-Taiwan legislators in Washington on Thursday said he would resign from his position as co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, saying his support for the Taiwan Caucus would be pointless when Taiwan was working with autocratic China rather than fighting against it.
Rohrabacher made the remarks in an interview with Voice of America aired on Thursday.
Rohrabacher said in the interview that his resignation was primarily the result of a growing gap in goals between him and Taiwan’s government.
Rohrabacher said that he firmly believed in opposing autocracy, but if Taiwanese voters via a democratic election have chosen to cooperate with China, then his participation was inconsequential.
The Congressional Taiwan Caucus has four co-chairs, of which two are leaving, both of whom are Republicans. Representative Steve Chabot lost his bid for re-election last year.
While Chabot and Rohrabacher, along with Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley, have been avid supporters of Taiwan, the fourth co-chair, Robert Wexler, now seldom participates in Taiwan-related proposals or attends related events.
Rohrabacher has supported a number of Taiwan-friendly proposals and has on many occasions upset Beijing by greeting Taiwanese presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during flight transit stops in the US.
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