US lawmaker visits Taiwan and meets with next president, emphasizes support for Taiwan even after taking office

During his meeting with President-elect Lai Ching-toku, Chairman Gallagher of the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on China, who is visiting Taiwan, emphasized that the U.S. Congress will continue to support Taiwan even after Lai becomes president.

A bipartisan group of House members led by Chairman Gallagher of the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on China arrived in Taiwan on the 22nd and met with President-elect Lai Ching-de, who will take office in May.

Lai pointed out that China's pressure is increasing in various fields, including diplomacy, military, and economy, and said, ``We will strengthen our defense capabilities and convey to the international community Taiwan's determination to protect our country.'' I hope for your firm support for Taiwan."

In response, Mr. Gallagher responded, ``Even if Mr. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party make a foolish decision and try to invade Taiwan, they will fail.Even after you become president, the United States will remain with Taiwan.'' Even after taking office, he emphasized that the US Congress will continue to support Taiwan.

Mr. Gallagher is known as a hard-liner on China, having attended the meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and then-House Speaker McCarthy in the United States in April last year, but he will not run for the House of Representatives election this November. It is stated that.

At the meeting on the 22nd, Mr. Lai expressed his wish for Mr. Gallagher to continue in his post, stating, ``In my personal opinion,'' ``There is now a great need for Chairman Gallagher to remain in Congress.''

US sells $75 million worth of military supplies to Taiwan

Meanwhile, the U.S. government announced on the 21st that it had decided to sell military supplies and other items to Taiwan worth $75 million, or 11.2 billion yen in Japanese yen, and notified Congress.

It also includes the cost of equipment aimed at improving the performance of the data link system used to share military operational information and the cost of dispatching approximately 200 U.S. government employees.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is the first time the United States has announced arms sales to Taiwan since last month's presidential election, and the 13th in total under the Biden administration.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense issued a statement saying, ``We appreciate the U.S. government's cooperation in strengthening Taiwan's defense capabilities.''