Former Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Taiwan on Thursday, two sources familiar with the trip told The Hill.
Pence plans to meet with both Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao, who Pence has known from her time as Taiwan’s representative to the U.S.
He began his day, Friday in Taiwan, meeting with senior tech leaders, and then will take a trip on the Taiwan High Speed rail to Taipei for the other events and a dinner reception at the historic Taipei Guest House.
Pence was in the region to attend a forum with business leaders in Hong Kong and shared a post on X about his trip.
One source familiar said that Pence decided to add the stop in Taipei to “see for himself” and to remind the Taiwanese people that America is an ally that won’t allow what’s happened to Hong Kong to happen to Taiwan.
A spokesperson for Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, did not respond to a request for comment.
Pence wrote an op-ed in August for The Washington Post in which he warned a “new and troubling strain of isolationism is emerging within the Republican Party that advocates turning our backs on Taiwan and other allies.”
The former vice president warned in that op-ed that Chinese annexation of Taiwan could rattle global supply chains and spark a nuclear arms race.
Pence since leaving office delivered speeches and used his advocacy group to warn Republicans against withdrawing from the world stage. He has made the case for supporting NATO and rejecting dictators like Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, at times putting himself at odds with President-elect Trump.
China claims Taiwan as its own and is gearing up to assert its control over the island through coercion or a potential invasion.
Trump invited Xi Jinping to his Inauguration, but the Chinese leader is reportedly sending a high-level official to represent him.
Lai congratulated Trump on his victory in November, saying he is “confident” that the Taiwan-US partnership “will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability.”
Ahead of the election, Taiwanese leaders stressed bipartisan support for their country in Washington, urging the next president to keep support for Taipei strong.
Trump has made several incendiary comments about Taiwan, saying it should have to pay for U.S. protection from China, and accusing Taipei of stealing the ability to make semiconductors from the U.S.
Since leaving office, Pence has made multiple international trips, typically in a show of support for U.S. allies.
Pence has traveled twice to Ukraine as it fights against invading Russian forces, arguing for the importance of U.S. support for Kyiv. He also visited Israel last January months after a Hamas terrorist attack killed more than 1,000 Israelis.
