U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chair Ami Bera and a delegation of democratic lawmakers were received by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) at the Presidential Office on Monday. In a welcome speech, Lai thanked Bera for leading the committee to Taiwan and the U.S. Congress for its firm support. He also expressed his hopes that Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation can move from military procurement to joint production and research and development, deepening defense industry exchanges and cooperation.
President Lai said strong bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress has been a key force for the steady progress of Taiwan-U.S. relations. He emphasized that Taiwan has an unwavering determination to safeguard peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Lai stated that over the past year, the government and the private sectors have worked together to actively enhance defense resilience and accelerate reform, including an increase of the defense budget to more than 3% of the GDP later in 2025.
Lai elaborated that Taiwan will continue to strengthen two-way investment and industrial cooperation with the United States in the future, and also hopes that the double taxation bill can be successfully resolved this year.
In his speech, Bera said that his visit to Taiwan is at an important time for Taiwan-U.S. relations and relations between countries around the world. He underscored that, especially seeing the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, he believes the democratic camp should unite to protect freedom and peace in Asia.
During their stay in Taiwan, the delegation will also meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) to exchange views on issues including Taiwan-U.S. relations, regional security, economic security, and supply chain resilience.