President Lai meets US House delegation led by...

On the morning of August 13, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the United States House of Representatives led by Representative Marilyn Strickland. In remarks, President Lai thanked the delegation for demonstrating strong support for both Taiwan and Taiwan-US relations through their visit. The president stated that he looks forward to Taiwan-US cooperation continuing to strengthen, as well as strengthening bilateral investment and industrial cooperation together. We will continue to work with the US, he stated, to defend freedom and democracy, contribute further to the development of global democracy, peace, and prosperity, and allow democratic Taiwan to continue shining on the world stage.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to this delegation from the US House of Representatives. Through this visit, you are demonstrating strong support for both Taiwan and Taiwan-US relations. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for affirming Taiwan's democracy through resolutions in the House and posts on social media.

Taiwan and the US share the values of freedom and democracy. Over the past few years, the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), jointly promoted by Taiwan, the US, Japan, and Australia, has continued to grow in scope. It has marshaled the strength of even more countries to help tackle the global issues we all face.

And as we face expanding authoritarianism, Taiwan very much looks forward to opportunities to strengthen cooperation with the US and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Earlier this morning, I met with a delegation from the Japanese Diet and reiterated that Taiwan would continue to work with its partners in democracy to support the democratic umbrella. With your support, I look forward to Taiwan-US cooperation continuing to strengthen so that we can contribute further to the development of global democracy, peace, and prosperity.

Security across the Taiwan Strait is crucial to global stability and prosperity. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will neither yield nor provoke as we seek to maintain the status quo. We will continue to promote reform of and increase our budget for national defense to boost our defense capabilities, and we will work closely with our global partners to safeguard peace.

In recent years, the Taiwan-US partnership has continued to strengthen across various domains. I thank Representatives Strickland and Jill Tokuda for actively promoting the inclusion of many initiatives in recent years' National Defense Authorization Acts to help enhance Taiwan's defense capabilities and continue to increase investment in the Indo-Pacific region.

I also thank the House for passing the US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act. We hope that Congress can complete the relevant legislative procedures as soon as possible so that we can resolve the issue of double taxation and strengthen bilateral investment and industrial cooperation together.

In closing, I once again welcome you all. I am confident that this visit will help you gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan and experience firsthand the many great things that Taiwan has to offer. We will continue to work with the US to defend freedom and democracy and allow democratic Taiwan to continue shining on the world stage.

Representative Strickland then delivered remarks, noting that she represents the 10th Congressional District of Washington State and thanking President Lai on behalf of the esteemed group of women representing different states for having them here. She stated that they are also here to reaffirm their support for Taiwan.

Representative Strickland stated that this longstanding relationship has evolved because of potential cross-strait aggression, emphasizing that they are steadfast and resolute in their support for Taiwan. Representative Strickland said that this is about shared values, as President Lai had mentioned earlier, a love of democracy, standing up for human rights, civil rights, women's rights, the ability to vote in a free and fair election, and LGBTQ rights.

Representative Strickland indicated that while our conversations are often about economic opportunities and defense, we know that we want to deter anything that will come across the strait and create a situation where we have to get involved in a conflict. That is not what we want to do, she emphasized, but we do that by projecting strength, power, and unity.

Representative Strickland said that the delegation has been treated with such respect and warmth during this short visit to Taiwan, and it's a testament to the people who are here, their resilience, their kindness, and again, the shared partnership that we have between the US and Taiwan. But make no mistake, she said, that there are adversaries around the world who want to destabilize democracy around the world. They're using disinformation, they're trying to sway our elections, and they're doing things to try to destabilize all the allies, the representative said. She emphasized that we are not going to stand for it, and we are going to stand together, and together, we know that we can continue to promote freedom and democracy with the US, with Taiwan, and around the world. Representative Strickland concluded her remarks by stating that with their votes in Congress, and with their presence here, they continue to send a strong message: Each of their states stands with Taiwan, and the United States of America also stands with Taiwan.

The delegation also included Members of the House of Representatives Julia Brownley and Jasmine Crockett.

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