Cross-party delegation meets officials, visits new trade center in Dallas

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) A cross-party legislative delegation led by Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, where they met with city officials and visited a newly opened Taiwan trade office, as part of the group's ongoing trip to the United States and Paraguay.

The 14-member group, which consisted of lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, and the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party, arrived in Dallas early Saturday, after concluding a three-day trip to Taiwan's South American ally, according to a statement released by the Legislative Yuan on Sunday.

Accompanied by Taiwan's representative in Houston responsible for Dallas affairs, Yvonne Hsiao (蕭伊芳), Chiang hosted a banquet attended by Texas Senator Brent Hagenbuch, Taiwan-born state representative Angie Chen Button, Plano Mayor John Muns, and Richardson Mayor Amir Omar, the statement said.

In remarks at the banquet, Chiang said the visit to Texas marked his third trip to the American state in a little more than one year.

He lauded the opening of the Texas Taiwan Office in July 2024 and the launch of direct flights from Taiwan to Dallas last month as concrete efforts to boost bilateral exchanges on all fronts.

Later Saturday, the delegation visited the newly opened Taiwan Trade and Investment Service Center in Dallas, the statement said.

The office was inaugurated on Aug. 14 to deepen bilateral trade and economic ties and expand supply chain cooperation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said in a press release issued at that time.

According to the MOEA, the state of Texas is the second-largest economy in the U.S., with a strong presence in sectors including artificial intelligence servers, aviation, biomedicine, electric vehicles, energy and semiconductors, which are highly complementary to Taiwan's industrial development.

Chiang and the legislative delegation departed Taiwan on Nov. 16. Their trip began in Detroit, where they attended a Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America event to better understand the needs of overseas Taiwanese businesses before they arrived in Paraguay on Nov. 18.