Xu Qiaoxin leads blue legislators on U.S. trip to engage Congress, unite overseas Chinese.

Kuomintang Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin, accompanied by several middle-aged and representative party lawmakers, officially departed today for a multi-day visit to the United States. Initiated by Hsu and comprising a total of seven Kuomintang legislators, the delegation includes prominent lawmakers who have garnered significant attention in the Legislative Yuan, such as Liao Wei-hsiang, Huang Chien-hao, and Lo Chih-chiang. The primary objective of this trip is to utilize parliamentary diplomacy channels to personally convey the Kuomintang's true stances and rational oversight attitude on major policies to U.S. government departments, think tank scholars, and overseas compatriots. This effort aims to deepen diverse and pragmatic communication bridges between Taiwan and the United States, while also rallying cohesion for upcoming overseas electoral affairs.

According to the itinerary and core missions announced by the delegation, the trip shoulders three main tasks: "communicating with the U.S.," "parliamentary diplomacy," and "assisting overseas campaigns." Regarding communication with the U.S., faced with complex and shifting international geopolitics and cross-strait trilateral relations, Kuomintang legislators hope to eliminate U.S. doubts and misunderstandings regarding the opposition party's defense budget, cross-strait stance, and energy policies through direct, face-to-face exchanges. For a long time, various sectors in the U.S. have closely monitored Taiwan's trajectory on critical issues. Particularly against the backdrop of heightened ruling and opposition confrontation in the Legislative Yuan, the opposition party's personal visit to the U.S. to explain its policy positions helps Washington's decision-making circles and academia gain a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse voices within Taiwan's democratic system, thereby preventing misjudgments of the opposition's oversight capacity caused by a single source of information.

On the level of parliamentary diplomacy, the lawmakers are scheduled to hold closed-door meetings or discussions with U.S. congressional aides, key think tank researchers, and relevant foreign affairs officials. Such visits to the U.S. have consistently been an important method for Taiwan's legislators to conduct routine parliamentary diplomacy. Through face-to-face exchanges of opinions, they can not only enhance the U.S. side's understanding of the actual operations of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, but also secure greater support and understanding for the Kuomintang from international friends. Especially at a time when Taiwan's domestic political atmosphere is tense and the review of bills and budgets is fraught with challenges, demonstrating the maturity of Taiwan's democracy and the opposition's determination for rational governance to the international community through parliamentary diplomacy holds strategic significance that cannot be overlooked.

Aside from substantive policy communication and parliamentary diplomacy, another important task of this U.S. visit is assisting overseas campaigns and rallying the hearts of expatriates. The Kuomintang possesses a vast support base overseas, and compatriots in the United States, in particular, have consistently maintained a high degree of concern and enthusiasm for the party's development and the nation's future. Through the on-the-ground visits by this delegation of legislators, they will not only be able to express gratitude to overseas compatriots, but also directly listen to the voices and suggestions of the expatriate community, while promoting the Kuomintang's policy ideals abroad. This will inject a shot in the arm into maintaining party cohesion and striving for greater overseas resources and support. This visitation model, combining policy advocacy and organizational mobilization, has always been standard practice for Taiwan's major political parties in managing relations with the U.S. during legislative recesses or at critical political junctures.

With the official departure of the Kuomintang delegation, this Washington and local itinerary led by Hsu Chiao-hsin and others is expected to attract a certain level of attention and discussion within U.S.-Taiwan-China relations and the domestic political arena. The ultimate key to evaluating the effectiveness of this visit will be whether the opposition lawmakers can successfully use this trip to shed established external labels of being pro-China or anti-U.S., and prove to the U.S. that the Kuomintang possesses the governance preparation and oversight capability to stabilize cross-strait relations and pursue pragmatic defense. For the Kuomintang's new and middle-generation politicians who are actively mapping out their future political landscapes, this U.S. tour—bearing the dual tests of diplomacy and overseas compatriot affairs—is undoubtedly an important step in expanding their international horizons and elevating their political stature.

(Source: Central News Agency)