US Representative Andy Barr, who cochairs the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, on Tuesday said that he would attend the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) in May.
Barr, who along with dozens of other lawmakers in January introduced a resolution commending Taiwan for its democratic elections, also voiced support for Taiwan and its people at a news conference organized by the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America.
“It’s so important, I mean, just say for deterrence, cross-strait deterrence, that we have economic interdependence and economic integration with the wonderful free people of Taiwan,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Barr said that he and fellow lawmakers across party lines are collaborating to support democracy in Taiwan, focusing on enhancing deterrence measures in Taiwan and the US, as well as boosting economic ties between the two sides.
US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, last week said that he would also visit Taiwan soon.
Also at Tuesday’s news conference were US representatives Keith Self, Young Kim and Jasmine Crockett.
Describing herself as a “badass advocate” for Taiwan, Kim said that one of her priorities was to counter the increasingly frequent aggressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party.
Kim, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, said she would work to ensure Taiwan is given the military equipment it needs before Beijing makes a move.
Separately, US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on a US$95 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“I want to encourage the speaker again to allow a vote,” McConnell told reporters at his weekly news briefing. “Let the House speak.”
McConnell was also asked about a proposal to offer assistance to Ukraine as a loan, not a grant.
He said that it is important to act quickly, which would mean not changing legislation that the US Senate passed last month.
“The only way to get relief to the Ukrainians and the Israelis quickly is for the House to figure out how to pass the Senate bill,” he said. “Anything that’s changed and sent back here, as you all know, even the simplest thing can take a week in the Senate. We don’t have time for all of this. We’ve got a bill that got 70 votes in the Senate. Give members of the House of Representatives an opportunity to vote on it. That’s the solution.”
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’