DPP delegation meets U.S. House speaker, bipartisan lawmakers in Washington

Washington, July 23 (CNA) A delegation led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus leader Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) met U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other bipartisan members of Congress on Thursday during a Washington visit focused on Taiwan-U.S. relations, security and trade.

The five-member DPP delegation also includes Policy Committee Executive Director Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤), Deputy Caucus Whips Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), and Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), head of the Legislative Yuan USA Caucus.

The delegation's itinerary also saw the lawmakers visit the U.S. Capitol and the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Thursday.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Tsai thanked Johnson and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "teaming up with Taiwan" and shared photos of his meetings with both lawmakers.

Wang said the delegation also met House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, former committee chairman Michael McCaul, and Republican Sens. Bill Hagerty and Rick Scott.

The meetings were high-level and drew bipartisan participation, resulting in "fruitful" exchanges, Wang wrote.

In a separate post, Shen said the delegation presented the lawmakers with "Team Taiwan" gifts and "Team Taipei" pins to thank them for their longstanding support for Taiwan.

The delegation also visited the office of Sen. Lindsey Graham to pay tribute following his recent death. Wang described Graham as a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and a longtime friend of Taiwan.

The delegation was scheduled to attend a forum hosted by the Taiwanese American Association Great Washington Chapter on Thursday evening.

On Friday, Tsai, Wang and Shen will take part in a virtual discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute titled "Taiwan's National Mobilization Against the China Threat."

Before departing for Washington, Tsai said the visit would reaffirm Taiwan-U.S. friendship and focus on maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, strengthening Taiwan's self-defense capabilities, and expanding bilateral trade and industrial cooperation.