'Not going to be bullied': US lawmaker reacts to China's warning against Taiwan visit

After China threatened five US lawmakers against travelling to Taiwan over the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the lawmakers on the delegation Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin said that the visit was crucial to resolve the semiconductor shortage, adding that the US will “not be threatened by China.” The bipartisan trip led by other four lawmakers on the US House Veterans Affairs Committee – chair Mark Takano of California, Colin Allred of Texas, Sara Jacobs of California and Nancy Mace of South Carolina was backed by the US State Department and the Department of Defence, according to multiple reports. The US delegation made stops in Japan and Korea to meet the US troops and the leaders to discuss a host of economic and national security issues before arriving in Taiwan. 

But one of the US lawmakers on the delegation now claims that she has received “blunt message” from the Chinese embassy questioning the Taiwan visit. “I’m not going to be bullied,” Slotkin said on Twitter, adding that the visit underscored the need for a comprehensive plan to counter Chinese belligerence on Taiwan.

“When news of our trip broke yesterday, my office received a blunt message from the Chinese Embassy, telling me to call off the trip,” Rep Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., wrote on Twitter. "The auto industry’s largest supplier of microchips is here in Taiwan, so supply chain issues will most definitely be on the agenda,” she went on to add. 

US representative's 'Republic of Taiwan' tweet 'intentional'

Another representative on the delegation that visited Taiwan last week to meet with Taiwanese government officials, including President Tsai Ing-wen, said that the Chinese government-registered strong objection to the visit, according to reports.  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time of arrival intentionally used the term “Republic of Taiwan” as she tweeted: “Just touched down in the Republic of Taiwan,” followed by the emoji of the American flag and the emoji of the Taiwanese flag. Mace told CNN that her tweet was “100%” intentional, indicating that the US would not succumb to the belligerence of China. 

“We appreciate what [the Taiwanese people are] doing,” Mace, one of the member on US delegation that visited Taiwan said in televised statement to CNN. “They are important to our economy and economies around the world, and we want to make sure that their democracy and freedoms are protected,” she added.

According to a letter dispatched to the US delegation by Chinese embassy, which representative Rep Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., shared separately with NBC News, China “strongly urged” that the US Congresswoman “immediately cancel the planned visit to Taiwan.” The embassy also asserted “not to support and embolden separatist forces of ‘Taiwan independence,’ lest it cause huge damage to the China-US relations and the peace and stability of Taiwan Straits,” the letter read. 

"US Congress once again organized a delegation to visit, demonstrating the unanimous and firm support of the two houses and parties of the U.S. Congress for Taiwan-US relations," meanwhile Taiwan's ministry of foreign affairs stated in a press release.  

The House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., consisting of four Democrats and one Republican, visited Taiwan earlier last month to meet with senior leaders and to reaffirm to "their friends and allies" US' commitment and shared responsibility for a free and secure Indo-Pacific region. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen greeted the US lawmakers at the Presidential Office in Taipei, highlighting the two countries' collaboration in economic concerns, and trade while underlining Taiwan's close ties with the United States, the AP reported citing the American Institute in Taiwan.