TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Like the governments of over 60 countries of the world, American political leaders have congratulated President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her landslide election victory over the past few days, but the number of Republican members of congress tweeting support was 44 percent higher than their Democratic counterparts, with the Senate having the widest gap.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, 23 congressmen have sent tweets congratulating Tsai on her victory since Saturday (Jan. 11). The ratio of Democrats to Republicans in the House is fairly even, with 11 Democrats and 12 Republicans sending congratulatory tweets.
The most notable Democratic member of congress is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who issued both a tweet and an official statement. Ted Yoho, who recently called for Taiwan to be recognized as a country, is one of the more staunch Taiwan allies among the Republican representatives.
However, in the U.S. Senate, a much higher number of Republicans expressed support, while most Democrats were silent. Out of the 15 senators who issued tweets to congratulate Tsai on her win, only three were Democrats, while 12 were Republicans.
Most notably absent from the list of senators was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell's silence could have something to do with the fact that Mitch's wife Transportation Secretary Elaine Lan Chao (趙小蘭), though born in Taipei, currently has a strong vested interest in Beijing as her family firm Foremost Group has shipped 72 percent of its raw materials to the Communist country since early 2018, according to the New York Times.
Among Democratic presidential candidates, only former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg posted tweets congratulating Tsai. Incredibly, Andrew Yang, who proudly proclaimed himself to be "Taiwanese-American" during a speech in California last year, failed to tweet any words of support for Tsai.
Congressmen:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) And her official statement
Senators:
Presidential candidates:
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Other U.S. government leaders:
Secretary of State Mike Pompe (R-KS)
Former leaders:
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton (R)
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC)
U.S. government bodies:
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
(List originally conceived by Reddit user frankchen1111)
