On Tuesday, Senator Tammy Duckworth had lunch with Taiwan’s vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), as part of the U.S. lawmaker’s three-day visit to Taipei. That morning, Duckworth toured an autonomous driving research center run by Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics maker famous for producing iPhones.
The Foxconn trip, which has not previously been reported, is described in documents obtained by Domino Theory that give an unusually detailed window into the planning process for U.S. congressional visits to Taiwan.
Duckworth’s visit to Taipei comes on the back end of a two-stop tour of East Asia that began when she landed in Japan last week. She is the first U.S. lawmaker to visit Taiwan since Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping in May.
Trump’s remarks following that meeting have raised doubts about the United States’ commitment to Taiwan, doubts which Duckworth has attempted to quiet during her trip.
“I’ve had a lot of questions from folks and I remind them that the support for Taiwan in the United States legislative branch is bipartisan,” Duckworth said Wednesday, speaking at a panel during the Taiwan International Ocean Forum in Taipei. “It is strong, and it is deep, and it will outlive—it will outlast any president, Democrat or Republican.”
A planning booklet bearing the insignia of the United States Navy and Marine Corps — who are helping to oversee security for the delegation — describes Duckworth’s goals for the trip in more detail.
“Senator Duckworth seeks to build and enhance relationships with key regional allies and partners,” the booklet reads. “The objectives of the trip are to secure meetings with host government representatives and leaders in the areas of foreign policy, national security and defense industry matters and to advocate for increased economic bilateral investments with the United States.”
Duckworth, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been one of Taiwan’s most vocal supporters in Congress. In 2022, she introduced the Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act, which called for the Department of Defense to develop a plan to expedite military assistance to Taiwan in preparation for an amphibious invasion.
In addition to the engagements with vice president Hsiao and Foxconn, Duckworth has met with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, Carl Wegner. The Senator was also planning to meet with National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).
AIT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duckworth had originally planned to have dinner with the speaker of Taiwan’s legislature, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), on Tuesday evening. “Dinner hosted by Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu– gift exchange,” the booklet reads. “Location: (TBC) Residence of Speaker Han.”
Han, who is seen as a leading presidential candidate for Taiwan’s opposition party in the 2028 elections, met with Duckworth during his trip to the U.S. last month. He would have been the highest-ranking figure from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT, included on Duckworth’s itinerary, which otherwise contained meetings primarily with members of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP.
But plans for the dinner at Han’s residence appear to have fallen through. By the time the American Institute in Taiwan — the United States’ de facto embassy — finalized its local briefing document for the Duckworth delegation on Monday afternoon, the Han dinner had been replaced by a dinner hosted by Han’s deputy, Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who is also a prominent KMT power broker.
Attendees of the dinner, which was held at a restaurant in downtown Taipei, included Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) of the KMT and Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) of the DPP, both of whom travelled with Han to the U.S. last month.
A representative from Speaker Han’s office declined to comment.
Other aspects of the trip’s planning documents address the kind of minutiae familiar to staffers on any high-level business trip: flight itineraries, phone numbers for local drivers, dietary preferences.
The fact that Duckworth is a double-amputee — who received a Purple Heart after losing both legs when her Blackhawk helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004 — introduced some unusual considerations.
For Duckworth’s meeting with Lai at the Presidential Office on Tuesday afternoon, the AIT planning document laid out a detailed order of events. “Pres. Lai arrives last, greets guests, gives his remarks seated, asks Senator to give her remarks (seated with handheld mic),” the plan reads. “After press departs, private discussion, gifts after meeting, then group photo.”
Yet, at the meeting, Lai delivered his remarks standing, behind a lectern.
“Your visit comes at a particularly meaningful time,” Lai said. “Just days ago, the U.S. celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding, and on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I would like to extend our sincerest wishes.”
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