Taiwanese President Has Fans in Both Parties

Ever since her election as President of Taiwan in 2016, Tsai Ing-wen has prioritized protecting her country from the Chinese Communist regime next door and building up support in America. The latter paid off with one of those rare (for me) events where Kevin McCarthy actually did something that I liked. Stopped clocks and all….

Here are the details (WaPo):

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and a bipartisan group of House lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday in a historic gathering where both sides reaffirmed their commitment to preserving freedom amid escalating tensions between the two democracies and China.

The visit marks the culmination of an eight-year effort to raise Taiwan’s international profile and strengthen relationships with countries that share democratic values with Taipei, even if they do not have formal diplomatic ties. Central to that strategy has been normalizing high-level exchanges with the United States.

…

Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top two lawmakers overseeing the panel on China’s influence, and other members of the committee also met with Tsai Wednesday.

McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai comes days after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met Tsai in New York.

Amidst the whirl and rush of partisan bickering, Taiwan has been one of those rare issues where both parties stand firmly on the side of democracy. Let’s hope it continues.