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WATCH: Chairman Gallagher & Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi deliver remarks at a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen.
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PRESIDENT TSAI MEETING: To start the day, the delegation met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to emphasize the enduring friendship between the United States and Taiwan, and President Tsai's leadership role in strengthening the partnership over the course of her eight years in office.
Chairman Gallagher told President Tsai, “Today we've come as Democrats and Republicans to show our bipartisan support for this partnership which thanks to your leadership, I think, is stronger and more rock solid than ever... I just want to say thank you, Madame President, for not only being an` incredible leader here in Taiwan, but really distinguishing yourself as a leader within the free world. And today, freedom is under attack from authoritarian aggression. And we need to be more vigilant than ever if we want to pass on this gift of freedom we've been given to the next generation."
"You are leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Taiwan, demonstrating staunch US support for Taiwan's democracy through concrete action," said President Tsai to the lawmakers. "The Taiwan of today plays a crucial role in upholding global peace and democracy. We will continue to advance our international partnerships and engage with the world. In 2024. We hope to see even more Taiwan US exchanges in a range of domains. We will work together with even more like-minded countries to strengthen the resiliency of global democratic supply chains and contribute to development and prosperity around the world."
Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi said during the meeting, "In this year of the dragon which symbolizes energy, ambition and bravery, President Tsai you are the symbol of the Year of the Dragon. And I think that you and Taiwan, for the whole world, hold out hope that freedom will prevail. And we are proud to be your partners in that enterprise."
(Click HERE for a transcript of the meeting)
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WATCH: Chairman Gallagher, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, and Select Committee Members Meet with President-Elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President-Elect Hsiao Bi-khim
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MEETING WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT LAI: Members met with President-Elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President-Elect Hsiao Bi-khim to discuss U.S. Congressional support for Taiwan ahead of its Presidential inauguration in May.
“The message that we want to send, in a bipartisan fashion, is that if Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party were to ever make the incredibly foolish decision to attempt an invasion of Taiwan: that effort would fail,” Chairman Gallagher told President-Elect Lai. "Please know, as you look forward to assuming the office of the Presidency, America stands with Taiwan, and you can draw upon a deep reservoir of friendship and support from the United States Congress.”
President-Elect Lai addressed the lawmakers, saying, "We are facing a rapidly changing global geopolitical landscape and also tremendous pressure and diplomatic, military and economic coercion from China, but also we hope that the United States and like-minded countries will also continue to back Taiwan.”
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WATCH: Chairman Gallagher & Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi deliver remarks at a press conference alongside Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu
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PRESS CONFERENCE WITH FOREIGN MINISTER WU: Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi headlined a press conference alongside Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu at the Taipei Guest House Garden.
“'America Against America' also describes the strategy that Wang, Xi Jinping, and the CCP have pursued in the years since — in America, in Taiwan, and around the world — pitting people against each other to undermine our countries and our resolve," Chairman Gallagher told reporters. "But that strategy is failing. Standing here, together, we are evidence of that failure. Democrats and Republicans, Blues and Greens, the people of Taiwan and the people of America — united against Chinese Communist Party aggression... Free People don't need a dictator to tell them what to think. They know the truth. They see the Chinese Communist Party for what it is: a Marxist Leninist regime, for which people are mere tools for the party. And free people know what is at stake: our dignity, our rights, and our freedoms. They know that this is about what kind of world we want to live in. And they're standing up for what's right. The United States, Democrats and Republicans, stand with Taiwan, for your freedom. And for ours. As Taiwan goes, so goes the world. Taiwan must remain as it stands today, a candle burning freely, fiercely and improbably against the darkness"
"Taiwan has been under tremendous military, economic and also hybrid coercion by the PRC (People's Republic of China). And therefore for us, the PRC is a prime issue for us," Foreign Minister Wu stressed. "And the committee led by Chairman Mike Gallagher has been a tremendous supporter of Taiwan, and we would like to welcome them to Taiwan to speak about our bilateral relations with the United States to speak about the regional situation and most important of all, we want them to tell us how Taiwan and the United States are going to work closer with each other."
(Click HERE for a full transcript of the press conference)
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Chairman Gallagher, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, and Select Committee Members meet with Taiwan Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang.
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MEETING AT LEGISLATIVE YUAN: Chairman Gallagher, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi and Select Committee members visited Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and were greeted by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang.
During the meeting, Speaker Han welcomed the delegation and presented Chairman Gallagher with traditional Spring Couplets as a token of appreciation.
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