US lawmaker says China 'bullying' Taiwan

US Representative Mike Gallagher has reached Taipei with a delegation of other lawmakers to meet Taiwan’s president and president-elect.

Gallagher has been a strong friend of Chinese-claimed Taiwan and a staunch critic of China

A US delegation led by Republican lawmaker and vocal China critic Mike Gallagher arrived in Taiwan on Thursday for meetings with the island’s top leadership.

Gallagher, the chair of the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, was accompanied by four other lawmakers on the trip that ends Saturday.

“Time and again, Taiwan has shown the world how to stand up to the CCP’s [Communist Party of China] bullying and not only survive but thrive,” Gallagher said in a statement that was released after the delegation’s arrival.

“The United States stands with Taiwan. By promoting deeper ties between our leaders and our economies, we can enhance peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the statement said.

The visit comes after last month’s presidential election in Taiwan that saw current Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party emerge victorious.

Beijing has called Lai a “troublemaker” and a “separatist.”

On Thursday, the US group will meet President Tsai Ing-wen and Lai, who takes office on May 20.

The United States is Taiwan’s most significant ally.

The island has been at the center of soaring tensions with China, which claims it as its territory.

China regularly denounces such visits by foreign lawmakers to Taiwan, believing they seek to fan tensions and interfere in Beijing’s affairs.

Two years ago, a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei had led to China dispatching warships and military aircraft to all sides of the island democracy and firing ballistic missiles into the waters nearby.

dvv/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)