U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton Visits Taiwan Amid Rising China Tensions

SALEM, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) urged the approval of aid packages to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine as he joined a House Select Committee delegation trip to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday amid rising tensions with China over the future of the island nation's self-governance.

Moulton urged House leadership to take up the Senate-passed supplemental which includes aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

"The bipartisan nature of this week's trip shows that the United States Congress remains united in its strong support of Taiwan, but we cannot allow a group of GOP extremists to prevent critical aid from getting to our Taiwanese partners," Moulton said in a statement provided to Patch. "As I return from this visit, I'm imploring Speaker (Mike) Johnson to bring the Senate-passed emergency aid package to the floor for a vote.

"Just like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is watching, so is (Chinese President) Xi Jinping. If we abandon Ukraine now if we fail to provide aid to Taiwan — that could prove disastrous for our national security in the future."

The delegation met with senior Taiwan leaders, including President Tsai Ing-wen and President-Elect Lai Ching-te, and members of civil society to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and other significant issues of mutual interest.

"Taiwan is a key partner to the United States. Its ability to conduct a free and fair election recently, despite the enormous pressure from Beijing, is a testimony to its resilience and determination to preserve its democracy," Moulton said.

Earlier this week, Moulton also visited Japan where he met with U.S. and Japanese officials to discuss bilateral defense cooperation, the regional security environment, trade, and economic security issues including semiconductors.

Moulton last visited Taiwan in October 2022. He also met with President Tsai as part of a delegation of bipartisan lawmakers in California last spring.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)