China Says US Going Down ‘Dangerous Path’ as US Lawmakers Visit Taiwan

 

The delegation was led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onApril 14, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsChina, Taiwan

Six US senators visited Taiwan on Thursday in a show of support for the island that drew a rebuke from Beijing, which warned Washington it was going down a “dangerous path.” The delegation was led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and also included Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Senator Graham and the other heavyweight members of the US Congress will definitely strengthen the close friendship between Taiwan and the United States, and further deepen the global partnership between the two sides in various fields,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to The South China Morning Post, the delegation is expected to leave Taiwan on Friday evening after a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The other lawmakers in the group are Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Ben Sasse (R- NE), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), and House Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas).

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denounced the visit at a press briefing. “China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region. Members of the US Congress should act in consistence with the US government’s one-China policy,” he said.

Zhao said the US should “stop official exchanges with Taiwan and avoid going further down the dangerous path.” In 1979, Washington severed formal relations with Taipei as part of its normalization agreement with Beijing. But in recent years, the US has been increasing its informal relationship with Taiwan by sending high-level officials to the island and taking other steps to boost cooperation.

The US has sold weapons to Taiwan since the diplomatic shift, but there have been growing calls in Congress for Washington to provide more military support for the island. Last week, Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill that would expedite arms sales to Taiwan by eliminating some bureaucratic roadblocks. Some ultra-hawks in Congress are even ready to hand President Biden war powers to fight China if it invades Taiwan.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/04/14/china-says-us-going-down-dangerous-path-as-us-lawmakers-visit-taiwan/