Taipei: A delegation led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus leader Tsai Chi-chang met U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other bipartisan members of Congress on Thursday during a Washington visit focused on Taiwan-U.S. relations, security, and trade.
According to Focus Taiwan, the five-member DPP delegation also includes Policy Committee Executive Director Wu Szu-yao, Deputy Caucus Whips Puma Shen and Chen Pei-yu, and Wang Ting-yu, head of the Legislative Yuan USA Caucus. The delegation's itinerary also saw the lawmakers visit the U.S. Capitol and the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Thursday.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Tsai thanked Johnson and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "teaming up with Taiwan" and shared photos of his meetings with both lawmakers. Wang said the delegation also met House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, former committee chairman Michael McCaul, and Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Rick Scott.
The meetings were high-level and drew bipartisan participation, resulting in "fruitful" exchanges, Wang wrote. In a separate post, Shen said the delegation presented the lawmakers with "Team Taiwan" gifts and "Team Taipei" pins to thank them for their longstanding support for Taiwan.
The delegation also visited the office of Senator Lindsey Graham to pay tribute following his recent death. Wang described Graham as a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and a longtime friend of Taiwan. The delegation was scheduled to attend a forum hosted by the Taiwanese American Association Great Washington Chapter on Thursday evening.
On Friday, Tsai, Wang, and Shen will take part in a virtual discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute titled "Taiwan's National Mobilization Against the China Threat." Before departing for Washington, Tsai said the visit would reaffirm Taiwan-U.S. friendship and focus on maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, strengthening Taiwan's self-defense capabilities, and expanding bilateral trade and industrial cooperation.