Duckworth Meets with Taiwan Legislature Delegation, Reinforces Support for U.S.-Taiwan Relations
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Han Kuo-yu, the Speaker of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, and a delegation from the Legislative Yuan yesterday to discuss how the United States can best continue to support Taiwan amidst threats from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), help Taiwan strengthen their national security and further enhance our bilateral economic ties. Photos of the meeting can be found on the Senator’s website.
“If America wants to remain a global leader, we have to show up and support our friends like Taiwan who is facing escalating threats from the PRC as they work to strengthen their own democracy,” said Senator Duckworth. “In recent years, I’ve worked across the aisle to help the people of Taiwan strengthen their civil defense, deliver desperately-needed COVID vaccines in the height of the pandemic and deepen our trade ties on everything from chip manufacturing to agricultural investments. I’m glad I had the chance to meet with Speaker Han Kuo-yu and his colleagues, and I’ll continue to do all I can to strengthen our critical partnership and show that the United States stands with Taiwan and is here for the long haul.”
Duckworth is a proven leader when it comes to strengthening our relations with Indo-Pacific nations and improving security in the region—which she has done while successfully securing significant international investments in Illinois. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law, Duckworth successfully included her Access to Care for Overseas Military Act which will help improve medical readiness within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and ensure our nation’s servicemembers and their families have access to quality patient care throughout the Indo-Pacific region, whether during peacetime or wartime. Last year, Duckworth helped lead a bipartisan Senate delegation to Taiwan to underscore and reaffirm our nation’s strong bipartisan support for the Taiwanese people just days after the peaceful transition of power that took place after the country’s successful democratic elections. In 2023, Duckworth led an official visit to the Indo-Pacific region, visiting Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines to meet with government and business leaders and discuss opportunities that would increase cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as economic investments, regional stability and national security. In 2022, Duckworth led a Congressional delegation to Taiwan and South Korea to help strengthen economic ties between our people, specifically highlighting how Illinois is uniquely positioned for greater investment and increased exports with international partners as a hub of agriculture, manufacturing and technology. In 2021, Duckworth traveled with a bipartisan Senate delegation to Taiwan to announce the allocation of 750,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan as part of President Biden’s plan to provide vaccines to our global partners in need.
Duckworth also successfully included a modified version of her Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to help Taiwan strengthen its military defenses.
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