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Former Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Taiwan on Thursday, two sources with knowledge of the trip told The Hill.
Pence plans to meet with both Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao, whom Pence knows from his time as Taiwan’s representative to the US.
He began his day Friday in Taiwan meeting with top tech leaders, then will take a trip on the Taiwan High Speed Rail to Taipei for the other events and a reception dinner at the historic Taipei Guest House.
Pence was in the region to attend a forum with business leaders in Hong Kong and shared a post on X about your trip.
A familiar source said Pence decided to add the stop in Taipei to “see for himself” and to remind the Taiwanese people that America is an ally that will not allow what happened in Hong Kong to happen to Taiwan.
A spokesman for Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, did not respond to a request for comment.
Pence wroteand opinion editingin August for The Washington Post in which he warned of a “worrisome new strain of isolationism within the Republican Party that advocates turning its back on Taiwan and other allies.”
The former vice president warned in that op-ed that China’s annexation of Taiwan could shake global supply chains and spark a nuclear arms race.
Since leaving office, Pence has given speeches and used his advocacy group to warn Republicans not to retreat from the world stage. He has made the casesupporting NATOand rejecting dictators such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, sometimes at odds with President-elect Trump.
China claims Taiwan as its home and is preparing to assert its control over the island through coercion or possible invasion.
Trump invited Xi Jinping to his inauguration, but the Chinese leader is sending a high-level official to represent him.
leave congratulated Trump on his victory in November, saying he is “confident” that the Taiwan-US partnership “will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability.”
Before the election, Taiwanese leaders he emphasized bipartisan support for his country in Washington, urging the next president to keep support strong in Taipei.
Trump has done several inflammatory comments on Taiwan, saying it should pay for US protection from China and blaming Taipei to steal the skill to manufacture US semiconductors
Since leaving office, Pence has made several international trips, usually in support of US allies.
Pence has it traveled twice in Ukraine as it fights against encroaching Russian forces, arguing the importance of U.S. support for Kiev. He too visited Israel months last January after a terrorist attack by Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis.
