Washington, Jan 10 (FN Agency) Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Alexander Yui, met with US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on January 9, several days before the presidential election on the self-ruled island, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. In November, Yui was appointed head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, which is de facto Taiwan’s embassy in Washington, the ministry said. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Taiwanese people. This is a very important issue for the entire world and, certainly, for us [the US] as well. We, certainly, want to help and the defense of Taiwan [is] very important to us. We want to deter the Chinese Communist Party and any military provocation,” Johnson told Yui at their meeting.
Johnson also assured Yui of Congress’ support for Taipei and of its willingness to strengthen bilateral relations. “On behalf of the people and government of Taiwan we would like to express our deep appreciation … to the United States Congress for your long-standing bipartisan support and commitment to enhancing Taiwan’s security, to safeguarding our democratic system and promoting our bilateral economic partnership,” Yui said. Taiwan will hold its presidential election on January 13, 2024. Taiwan’s incumbent leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is no longer eligible for reelection as she has already served two consecutive terms as the island’s president. Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country, but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.