Taiwan’s delegation to Trump’s inauguration to receive ‘higher blessings’ Reuters

TAOYUAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – When Donald Trump is inaugurated as U.S. president next week, the head of Taiwan’s delegation said on Saturday he would go there to extend the island’s “highest blessing” to the United States.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, received strong support from the first Trump administration, including the normalization of arms sales that continued under President Joe Biden. But Trump has not impressed on the campaign trail, calling for Taiwan to pay for defense.

In the year Taiwan’s parliament speaker Han Kuo-yu, who is running for president in 2020, said at Taoyuan Airport before leaving for Washington that many foreign leaders are also making their way through the threat of snow.

“All members of our delegation are taking this enthusiasm to the United States to represent our 23 million people, and we offer our best wishes to the US presidential team and the people of the United States.”

Han is traveling with a group of seven other lawmakers.

The Chinese delegation is led by Vice President Han Zheng, and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Trump on Friday to discuss issues including Taiwan.

Han’s party traditionally supports closer ties and dialogue with China but denies being pro-Beijing.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the island with means of self-defense.

China has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan over the past five years and refused to talk to President La Chingte, calling it a “separatist”. It has rejected China’s claim of sovereignty, and China has rejected its offer of negotiation.

Lai, who met Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence for the first time late Friday, said that despite China’s threats to Taiwan and Beijing’s appeasement of countries like Russia, democracies must work together.

“I believe that as the partnership between Taiwan and the United States strengthens, the power to maintain world peace and stability will also be strengthened,” Lai told Pence.