The U.S. mid-term elections will see a major change in the Taiwan connection. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The cross-party consensus on friendship with Taiwan remains.

The results of the U.S. midterm elections have been finalized. The Democratic Party will control both the House of Representatives and the Senate from January next year, and the members of the "Taiwan Connection" in Congress have also changed significantly. Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Mingqi pointed out today (12th) that 10 of the 38 members of the Taiwan Connection in the Senate have confirmed to leave the Senate; there are approximately 220 members in the Taiwan Connection in the House of Representatives, and it is estimated that about 153 will be left when the session opens next year. He emphasized that the high degree of cross-party consensus between the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to be friendly to Taiwan remains, and support for the Taiwan Friendship Act will remain unchanged. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also actively contacting new lawmakers.

The Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan today invited Chen Mingqi to report on "The Current Situation and Priorities of my country's Participation in International Organizations" and prepared for questions. Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Junyu pointed out that although friendship with Taiwan is a cross-party consensus in the United States, in addition to the resignation of senior legislators, many new legislators were elected this time, and they may not be familiar with Taiwan issues. He asked whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs kept statistics on the changes in Taiwan Connection members, and whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had begun to contact new legislators and invite them to join Taiwan Connection.

Chen Mingqi explained that 17 members of the Taiwan Connection in the Senate are facing re-election, of which 10 are determined to leave due to retirement, defeat or defeat in the primary election, and 5 were successfully re-elected. In addition, Maine Senator Susan Collins and Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan are in a close race and the votes have not yet been cast. He described the two as good friends of Taiwan. As for the co-chairs of the Taiwan Connection in the House of Representatives, Kentucky Republican Representative Andy Barr successfully moved to the Senate, and the other three were successfully re-elected. He said that many new members of Congress have expressed their willingness to join, and several senior members are interested in serving as chairman. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively contacting it, and also hopes to invite U.S. members and important staff to visit Taiwan to deepen their understanding of Taiwan.

Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Yichuan asked directly, after the election, will the number of friendly Taiwanese members increase or decrease overall? Chen Mingqi replied, "Not much has changed." He also admitted that the more progressive members of the Democratic Party are less familiar with the Taiwan issue and have made great gains this time. Some areas must be focused on.

Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Dingyu pointed out that according to his statistics, Taiwan Alliance currently has 201 members in the House and Senate. In this election, it has lost 52 seats, with a turnover of 25%. He believes that this is a structural change. He is also worried that most of the new members of Congress are concerned about domestic issues such as living costs and prices. The House of Representatives will be re-elected in two years, and they may not have time to understand Taiwan-US strategic issues such as the first island chain. In addition, the new Congress and Trump belong to different political parties, and the executive branch's setting of the Taiwan Strait or Indo-Pacific strategy may encounter opposition in Congress.

Chen Mingqi said that structural changes are "probably not enough", but he does face many challenges. What the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is worried about is not the stance of the congressmen, because the cross-party consensus between the two houses on Taiwan comes from the United States' insistence on democratic values ​​and its emphasis on the symbiotic relationship of interests between the United States and Taiwan. What is really worrying is that some new members, and even current members, are not familiar with Taiwan Strait issues. He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will draw members' attention to the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the importance of U.S.-Taiwan relations through invitations, communications, and door-to-door visits. He also asked colleagues in the congressional team of the representative office in the United States to let members understand that Taiwan’s investment in the United States has brought real economic benefits and job opportunities to many states.

Wang Dingyu asked whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had convened a special meeting on the election results. Chen Mingqi said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made arrangements before; when he went to Washington a few days ago, he also communicated with colleagues in the congressional team. Wang Dingyu believes that the U.S. Capitol is an important pillar of Taiwan-U.S. relations and deserves special discussion. It may even be necessary to upgrade it to the national security level after the new Congress takes office. He also reminded that this time the map of governors in many states has flipped, state-level management is also the next focus; there are so many new politicians that the representative office in the United States alone cannot have enough contact, and there should be extensive contact in an orderly manner.

In terms of promoting the bill, Chen Mingqi said that the Taiwan-US Double Taxation Avoidance Act (ADTA), which is of concern to the Chinese people, is supported by both houses of the House. The biggest challenge is to find a suitable legislative vehicle, such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or an appropriation bill, during the transitional session before the new Congress opens in January next year. He said that if this session cannot be passed, the first thing to do after the session starts next year is to win the support of cross-party members of both houses.

In this midterm election, the Democratic Party controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time since 2006. In addition, Ted Lieu, the current vice chairman of the Democratic House Caucus, announced on the 6th that he is running for the chairmanship of the Democratic House Caucus. Lieu was born in Taipei and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 3 years old. He has long supported bills related to improving Taiwan's international status in Congress.