Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China.

(AFP file photo)

[Central News Agency] The Washington Post exclusively reported today that Gallagher, chairman of the newly established "Special Committee on China Issues" of the House of Representatives, visited Taiwan secretly for 4 days over the weekend, during which he met with President Tsai Ing-wen.

He also revealed that House Speaker McCarthy may visit Taiwan after Taiwan's general election in early 2024.

U.S. Representatives Ro Khanna, Jake Auchincloss, and Jonathan Jackson visited Taiwan from the 19th to the 23rd. Senator Gallagher (Mike Gallagher) is also visiting Taiwan.

Please read on...

After returning to the United States, Gallagher accepted an exclusive interview with The Washington Post on the 20th, and the content of the interview was published today.

According to reports, Gallagher met with President Tsai during his visit to Taiwan, and also met with Vice President Lai Qingde, Defense Minister Qiu Guozheng and intelligence chiefs.

The reason for the low-key visit to Taiwan, Gallagher said, was to make the meeting with Taiwan more fruitful, especially seeing the turmoil caused by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August last year.

Gallagher revealed that every Taiwanese official he met during his visit to Taiwan would mention the Russo-Ukrainian war, saying that this war was a wake-up call to Taiwan, making Taiwan aware of the need to stockpile advanced weapons.

Gallagher called on the United States to make every effort to provide weapons to Taiwan to avoid war.

He said: "No one knows whether and when Xi Jinping will wake up and decide to do this (attack Taiwan). Because of this, we should position the denial deployment as soon as possible."

Speaking of rumors that Kevin McCarthy may visit Taiwan, Gallagher said that he has not heard that McCarthy is actively planning to visit Taiwan (don't know of any active plans), but if he wants to go, of course he can go.

Gallagher pointed out that he plans to hold a hearing in Taiwan before this summer and report back to McCarthy after the conclusion, which can provide more information on McCarthy's visit plan.

He revealed that McCarthy and the African-American leader of the Democratic Party, Hakeem Jeffries, may visit Taiwan after Taiwan's presidential election in early 2024.

However, a senior staff member of the U.S. Congress told the Central News Agency reporter that House of Representatives regulations do not allow committees to use funds overseas, so no committee has ever held overseas "field hearings" in the past; Overseas visits by foreign delegations, or official events such as roundtable meetings in the local area.

Facing inquiries from the Central News Agency, the Special Committee on China Issues stated this evening that Gallagher intends to lead a cross-party congressional delegation to visit Taiwan, but there is no official plan yet; as for the Special Committee on China Issues, all hearings, including field hearings, will follow the House rules are held within the United States.