04.05.23

Sullivan, Ernst, Kelly Meet With President of Taiwan in New York City

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today issued the following statements regarding their meeting with the President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen which occurred Friday, March 31 in New York City.

“I was honored to lead a strong bipartisan group of U.S. Senators to meet with President Tsai and show our ongoing support for the island democracy of Taiwan,” Senator Sullivan said. “The dictators of Beijing should not determine which foreign leaders members of Congress can or cannot meet with, especially on American soil. The U.S. Senate is not the NBA. It doesn’t do the Chinese Communist Party’s bidding. While the CCP wants the world to believe that Taiwan is isolated, nothing could be further from the truth.”

“I would like to thank President Tsai for hosting me during her layover in New York last week,” Senator Ernst said. “It is critical to America’s security and prosperity that we deter China’s aggression in Asia and beyond. We know Communist China, our pacing threat, is looking toward their neighbor and key U.S. partner, Taiwan. After meeting with President Tsai, I’m even more resolved that America’s partnership with Taiwan must be strengthened—through trade, including Iowa’s agriculture products, and through enhanced military training and swift weapons transfers.”

“Taiwan is an important partner and it was an honor to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen to discuss our countries’ shared security and economic priorities, including the significant investment that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has made to bring manufacturing to Arizona,” Senator Kelly said.

The meeting was first reported in the Wall Street Journal. You can read the full article here.

Background:

  • On March 29, 2023, Senator Sullivan and Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) reintroduced the Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies (STAND) with Taiwan Act of 2023, which would impose crippling, comprehensive economic and financial sanctions on China in the event that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) or its proxies initiate a military invasion of the island democracy of Taiwan.
  • On August 2, 2022, Senator Sullivan led a letter with 25 Senate colleagues as co-signers, voicing their support for then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
  • On January 20, 2022, Senator Sullivan introduced the S.T.A.N.D with Taiwan Act of 2022.
  • In June 2021, Senators Sullivan, Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) traveled to Taipei to underscore U.S. support for Taiwan.