Supporting Taiwan’s Democracy

That the Parliament expresses its unequivocal support for democracy and peace in the Republic of China (Taiwan); notes with concern what it sees as the People’s Republic of China's growing threat to Taiwan and security in the wider Indo-Pacific region; is aware of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on 2-3 August 2022, accompanied by five key congressional colleagues, including the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee; welcomes that Speaker Pelosi emphasised that the United States must stand with Taiwan, which she described as an "island of resilience", to advance the common interests of both sides so that the freedom of Taiwan and its democracy are respected; is concerned that, in what it believes to be an act of deliberate intimidation and in retaliation for Ms Pelosi’s visit, Chinese jets flew above Pingtan island, which lies across the Taiwan Strait from northern Taiwan, and is one of the closest points on the mainland to the island; understands that, as a result, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is reported to have reaffirmed the values that Taiwan shares with other democratic countries and asked the international community to "halt any escalation of the regional security situation”, and calls for an immediate cancellation of China's military drills and what it considers to be campaigns of high-intensity and continued intimidation of its prosperous, stable and democratic island neighbour.