French and US lawmakers to visit Taiwan this week

Sources familiar with the plans told Reuters US Representative Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat, was leading a bipartisan House delegation that would arrive in Taiwan on Wednesday and stay until Friday.

The other members of the US delegation included Democrat Kaiali’i Kahele and Republicans Scott Franklin, Joe Wilson, Andy Barr, Darrell Issa, Claudia Tenney and Kat Cammack, the sources told Reuters.

Taiwan has been keen to bolster relations with like-minded democracies, especially as tension with China rises. Later this year, visits are also expected from German, British and Canadian legislators.

China views Taiwan as a purely domestic issue and bristles at visits by foreign officials or members of parliament.

Taiwan’s democratically elected government says that as the People’s Republic of China has never governed the island it has no right to claim it, and that Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its 23 million people.