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The Republican governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb, has landed in Taiwan, becoming the latest US official to visit the self-ruled island amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Holcomb announced in a Twitter thread on Sunday that he arrived in Taiwan along with a delegation for a trip to strengthen the business ties between his Midwestern state and Taipei.
“I appreciate the warm welcome to Taiwan from Douglas Hsu, Taiwan Director of North American Affairs,” the governor said.
The governor said that his delegation would meet with “government officials, business leaders, and academic institutions” to build new relationships and reinforce existing ones.
I landed in Taipei to kick off an economic development trip in Taiwan & South Korea. Indiana’s home to 10 Taiwanese & 12 South Korean businesses. This week marks my 2nd trip to South Korea as Governor & I’m proud to be the first governor to visit Taiwan since before the pandemic.
I landed in Taipei to kick off an economic development trip in Taiwan & South Korea. Indiana's home to 10 Taiwanese & 12 South Korean businesses. This week marks my 2nd trip to South Korea as Governor & I'm proud to be the first governor to visit Taiwan since before the pandemic.
— Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) August 21, 2022
The visit comes in the wake of heightened tension between Washington and Beijing following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s two-day trip to Taiwan at the start this month.
Pelosi visited Taipei despite stern warnings from Beijing that the trip would have a “severe impact” on bilateral ties with the United States and would “gravely undermine” regional peace and stability.
Pelosi said the visit was intended to make it “unequivocally clear” that the US would “not abandon” the island.
Her visit infuriated China, which has sovereignty over the self-ruled Chinese Taipei and has publicly stated that it may take it by force one day, if necessary.
Under the “one China” policy, nearly all countries across the globe, the US included, recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over Chinese Taipei.
Washington, however, engaged in direct contact with the secessionist government in Taipei, in violation of its own stated policy. The US also supplies Taipei with massive amounts of armaments.
China’s defense minister described Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as a “gross violation of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He reiterated that Taipei was an integral part of China and that the country is fully prepared to fight its enemies amid attempts by the United States to undermine its sovereignty and security in the region.
