TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator and convener of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) has postponed his visit to Taiwan’s Taiping Island, originally planned for May 16.
Ma, who organized the trip, said the postponement was due to the significant bills to be voted on during the May 17 legislative session, CNA reported. She wanted to avoid a situation where legislators could not return to Taiwan for the session due to clement weather.
Ma planned to lead a delegation of 20 KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators to the island. The group would have departed from Pingtung Air Force Base aboard a C-130 plane.
Once on the island, the parliamentarians would inspect defense facilities and hardware before returning to Pingtung the same day.
Lawmakers have invited President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to visit the island to reaffirm Taiwan’s sovereignty over it. However, both National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) warned against such a trip.
A visit at this time could be perceived as creating tension, especially given the high degree of militarization in the South China Sea, Tsai said in March.
Wu previously said it would be inappropriate for the president to travel there due to regional tension, particularly between China and the Philippines. The government needed to make clear it was not a troublemaker amid rising tension, he added.
Tags: Legislative trip Taiwans Taiping Island postponed Taiwan News
