As Republican candidates for the presidency of the United States in 2024 look to boost their campaigns with international trips, the governor of the US state of Virginia, a Republican, has met Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan.
According to their offices, Glenn Youngkin, a former hedge fund manager who unexpectedly won the campaign for governor of Virginia, met Tsai Ing-wen on a trade mission in Taipei on Tuesday. Youngkin declared Taiwan to be “an important partner and a model of prosperity for countries around the world” as he announced the opening of a Taiwan-Virginia economic development office.
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Tsai expressed her pleasure at hosting US friends and noted that Virginia and Taipei have long had close ties. It’s particularly notable, she continued, that Governor Youngkin chose Taiwan as the location of his first international trip since assuming office.
The governor, a rising Republican star who hasn’t yet declared his candidature for president in 2024, is also scheduled to travel to South Korea and Japan.
- US Republican candidates in 2024 look to boost their campaigns with international trips.
- Glenn Youngkin met Tsai Ing-wen on a trade mission in Taipei on Tuesday.
- Ron DeSantis is already traveling abroad and on Monday he met with Kishida, the PM of Japan.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a potential challenger who is also traveling abroad is already in Tokyo and on Monday he met with Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan. Donald Trump, a former president who announced his candidature in November, is currently the early front-runner for the Republican Party.
DeSantis commended Japan as a “great ally” of the US and welcomed a $315 billion, five-year military expansion Japan began last year in response to a rising China and an increase in North Korea‘s missile launches.
“We firmly believe that both a strong Japan and a strong America are excellent for each other, added DeSantis, who will also visit South Korea, Israel, and the UK.
The visits take place at a time of increased tension in the region over Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over democratic Taiwan and its refusal to rule out the use of force to further its goals. After meeting Tsai in California earlier this month, Republican US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy organized days of war simulations. Tsai, according to Beijing, is a “separatist” who favors independence. She asserts that Taiwan’s destiny will be decided by its people. Although the US and Beijing have official relations, the US is Taiwan’s biggest overseas ally.
