TAIPEI, Taiwan — It was a message delivered in blunt terms.
“Democracy is chaotic. Democracy can be difficult, but a chaotic democracy is far better than being run by a dictator,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told NBC News on Wednesday during a two-day visit to Taiwan.
She and three other U.S. senators arrived on the island, claimed by Beijing, in the midst of political turmoil in the country, with the executive cabinet vowing to veto parliamentary reforms passed by the opposition-controlled Congress that it sees as favorable to China.
The delegation led by Duckworth and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) also includes Sens. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) and LaFonza Butler (D-Calif.). They are the second bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers to arrive in Taiwan this week, after a six-member delegation led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, arrived on Sunday.
The congressmen were the first group of sitting U.S. government officials to meet with Taiwan’s former vice president and new president, Lai Ching-te, a country Beijing calls a “separatist.”
While China has been conducting military drills around Taiwan in recent days in response to the inauguration of Lai the Elder on May 20, attention in Taiwan has been focused on proposed reforms to increase scrutiny of the government. The reforms approved on Tuesday would give the legislature greater power to control the budget, including defense spending, which has been blocked by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which officially supports unification with China.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) India’s government, which lost its parliamentary majority in January elections, opposed the amendments, saying they would expand the powers of Parliament at the expense of the president and were pushed through without proper consultation. In a statement on Tuesday, the executive cabinet said the changes may violate the constitution and would send the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration.
The dispute has drawn tens of thousands of protesters outside parliament and led to fistfights between lawmakers on Tuesday in a chamber filled with banners from both sides.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), a member of the House caucus, said heated politics are “a product of a free society.”
“This is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength,” he said. “This is a sign of a mature, multi-party democracy that seeks checks and balances.”
The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier. U.S. lawmakers regularly visit Taiwan over the objections of Beijing, which views the visits as provocative and a violation of Washington’s longstanding “one China” policy.
The lawmakers’ visit came days after China, which has not ruled out the use of force to unify with Taiwan, conducted two days of “punishment” drills around the island in response to President Lai Ming, who in his inaugural address called for Beijing to stop intimidation and “face the reality” of Taiwan’s existence.
Lai prefers maintaining the status quo – without formally declaring independence or becoming part of China – but Beijing has rejected his offers to meet.
China conducted joint military drills on Thursday and Friday in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan-controlled island groups off the Chinese coast, with Taiwan’s military mobilizing its own troops.
Tsai Ming-yan, director of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, told reporters on Wednesday that China’s aim in the drills was “not to start a war, but to intimidate Taiwan.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday the drills were a “legitimate action to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian criticized Lai’s stance on Taiwan, saying such military actions would not stop “as long as provocations for ‘Taiwan independence’ continue.”
Lai’s victory in January’s election ensured the DPP an unprecedented third consecutive term in office, but the party lost its majority in parliament, limiting his policy agenda.
No party won a majority on its own, but the Kuomintang, with the support of the minority Taiwan People’s Party, won the most seats and passed parliamentary reforms.
The amendment expands Congress’ investigative powers, requires the president to report regularly to lawmakers and answer their questions, and makes it a crime for government officials to be in contempt of Congress.
The KMT says the reforms are needed to improve government accountability. It denies being pro-Beijing and says allegations it acts at China’s behest are unfounded and politically motivated.
Duckworth said that in her meetings with Taiwanese lawmakers from various political parties, they understood clearly that “we must stand together and work together” in the face of the threat from China, which has increased pressure on Taiwan in recent years.
She said similar unity was shown when Congress approved about $2 billion in military aid to Taiwan last month.
“I think it’s clear, at least to members of Congress, how important this region is to America’s national security,” she said.
