War in the Pacific — a potential spark for World War III — is not out of the question in the weeks and months ahead. That was just one of the revelations from Townhall's embed with a bipartisan congressional delegation to Taiwan.
Led by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), the visit sought to recognize and highlight the close ties between the United States and Taiwan amid escalating harassment of the island nation by the Chinese Communist Party.
Townhall was along for days of meetings with just-inaugurated President Lai, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, leaders of the Legislative Yuan, and other government and industry leaders in Taiwan. From the start, the threat of China in the Taiwan Strait and the larger region was clear.
Due to China's escalating harassment of Taiwan and other American partners in Southeast Asia, the trip was kept quiet until the delegation's flight was wheels-down in the capital city of Taipei. Just days before the delegation arrived with Townhall in tow, the CCP staged its largest military drills aimed at intimidating Taiwan, completely encircling the island nation to simulate a blockade. The attempted show of force was launched as a "punishment" for Taiwan after inaugurating President Lai in another peaceful transition of power the likes of which is not possible under the CCP's strangling totalitarianism.
Amid its escalating saber-rattling, the CCP's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through a spokesperson, warned the United States "not to schedule any congressional visit to Taiwan," adding "all consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the US." Such warnings did not deter McCaul or the rest of the delegation from defying the CCP’s ominous threat.
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Reporting from Taiwan — fewer than 150 miles from the CCP-run People's Republic of China — Townhall was in the room when the delegation became the first American representatives to meet with President Lai after his inauguration. "I deeply admire former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's concept of 'peace through strength,'" President Lai told members of Congress. "Therefore, moving forward, I will enhance, reform, and bolster national defense," he continued of his nascent administration's plans to boost Taiwan's defenses and deterrence.
Speaking alongside President Lai, McCaul declared that "all democracies must stand together against aggression and tyranny" as "an unholy alliance is eroding peace around the world. Not since WWII," McCaul warned, "have we seen such blatant violence and naked aggression."
Townhall was also in the room at the Taipei Guest House as Taiwan's Foreign Minister explained the "critical time" his country is in — and how Taiwan is "eager to work with the U.S. Congress to continue to strengthen cooperation between Taiwan and the United States" to "safeguard Taiwan's democracy and freedom" against Chinese aggression.
Answering the question of why Taiwan is important to the United States, McCaul said "it's the people, it's democracy, it's freedom, it's prosperity, it's what [Taiwan] brings in science and technology and innovation. It's because the people of Taiwan are just like the people of the United States," he added.
During the delegation's nearly week-long visit to Taiwan, daily reports from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense were a reminder of China's desire to topple the Republic of China and snuff out the freedom of its citizens. Each morning brought more incursions of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) by Chinese warplanes, paired with military vessels crossing the median line in the Strait of Taiwan. A constant reminder — along with ongoing cognitive warfare — of the CCP's desire to subjugate freedom-loving Taiwan.
On the sidelines of the ongoing delegation meetings, Townhall sat down with Rep. Young Kim (R-CA), chair of Foreign Affairs' Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, to talk about the CCP's "increased aggression" toward Taiwan and what the United States is doing to "deter any potential armed conflict" over Taiwan — including clearing a backlog of weapons sold to the island nation to improve its defensive capabilities. "Xi Jinping is not going to stop at Taiwan," Kim warned, adding the U.S. must show strength to make Xi Jinping "think twice."
From a separate interview in Taipei with Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), Townhall reported how a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan would mean the "entire global economy would be disrupted massively within hours" and "Americans would instantly see a disruption" in their everyday lives. Citing economist estimates, Barr told Townhall that such an invasion "would result in a $2 trillion hit to the global economy" and "whether we like it or not, we cannot ignore the U.S. economic interdependency with the world."
After the delegation's meetings with Taiwanese officials and stakeholders wrapped up, Townhall caught up with Chairman McCaul to get his takeaways and a better idea of what the U.S. response would — should — be in the event Xi's China decides to invade Taiwan. "This administration's policy of weakness has invited aggression and conflict and war," McCaul told Townhall of President Biden and his cabinet's foreign policy. "You had Afghanistan, months after that we saw the Russian Federation moving into Ukraine, then the Ayatollah lighting up the Middle East and Israel, and now this could be the next shoe to drop."
Explaining the "ultimate nightmare scenario," McCaul said an invasion could happen "so fast" with a "blockade, a massive artillery assault...the island would get blown up, and then a massive cyberattack would shut down the island — maybe they hit the West Coast of the United States [with a cyberattack] to say, 'Hey, you don't want to get involved in this.'"
Speaking about the "unholy alliance" between freedom-hating countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, McCaul said, "you're looking at war on an almost global scale." That "would be" World War III, he confirmed, saying that's what keeps him up at night.
There were other off-the-record meetings and conversations Townhall can't report, but all of it only bolstered what was learned while in Taiwan.
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