TAIPEI — The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is in Taiwan this week meeting with senior members of the new presidential administration and members of the legislature.
Taiwan's 14th president, Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to serve, won the presidency in January. The election also covered the legislature and resulted in a clear mandate for the independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tsai's DPP also won a majority of legislative seats and confirmed long-held suspicions among political pundits that the then-ruling party, the Kuomintang (KMT), was out of touch with the demographic shifts in the society.
Larry Wortzel will lead the US delegation. Wortzel, a 32-year military veteran, had served as a US Army attaché to Beijing where he witnessed the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is also the only defense attaché to have jumped with China's airborne corps. His book, "The Dragon Extends its Reach," is considered required reading among many China military watchers.
Other China analysts in the delegation include Kristien Bergerson and Michael Pilger, both senior policy analysts in security and foreign affairs for the commission.
The commission just released transcripts of its June 9 "Hearing on Chinese Intelligence Services and Espionage Operations," co-chaired by Commissioner Peter Brookes and former Sen. Byron Dorgan. The hearing included testimony by Peter Mattis, a fellow at the Jamestown Foundation; Mark Stokes, executive director of Project 2049 Institute; and David Major, the founder and president of CI Centre.
Defense News is preparing an analysis of the hearings and will post shortly.
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