The research team included associate professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering, Geeta Mehta and materials science and engineering PhD students Abhishek Dhyani and Taylor Repetto…reports Asian Lite News
There may soon be a new weapon in the battle against Covid in the form of a durable coating, thanks to Indian-American researchers, that can quickly kill bacteria and viruses on surfaces, and keep killing them for six months or longer.
The coating, which is clear and can be brushed or sprayed on, gets its durability and germ-killing power by combining tried-and-true ingredients in a novel way.
It uses antimicrobial molecules derived from tea tree oil and cinnamon oil, both used for centuries as safe and effective germ killers that work in under two minutes, according to the study led by Anish Tuteja, a professor of material science and engineering at University of Michigan, published in the journal Matter.
“Disinfectant cleaners can kill germs in only a minute or two but they dissipate quickly and leave surfaces vulnerable to reinfection. We do have long-lasting antibacterial surfaces based on metals like copper and zinc, but they take hours to kill bacteria. This coating offers the best of both worlds,” said Tuteja.
The research team included associate professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering, Geeta Mehta and materials science and engineering PhD students Abhishek Dhyani and Taylor Repetto.
The coating’s durability comes from polyurethane, a tough, varnish-like sealer that’s commonly used on surfaces like floors and furniture.
The coating proved deadly to SARS-CoV-2 virus, E. coli, MRSA and a variety of other pathogens.
It killed 99.9 per cent of microbes even after months of repeated cleaning, abrasion and other punishment on real-world surfaces like keyboards, cell phone screens and chicken-slathered cutting boards.
The coating could be a game changer in traditionally germ-laden public spaces like airports and hospitals.
“The antimicrobials we tested are classified as ‘generally regarded as safe’ by the FDA, and some have even been approved as food additives,” Tuteja said.
“Polyurethane is a safe and very commonly used coating. But we did do toxicity testing just to be sure, and we found that our particular combination of ingredients is even safer than many of today’s antimicrobials,” he mentioned.
The coating could keep killing germs for six months or longer before its oil begins to evaporate and reduce its disinfectant power.
But even then, said Tuteja, it can be recharged by wiping it with fresh oil; the new oil is reabsorbed by the surface, starting the cycle again.
Tuteja estimates that the technology could be commercially available within a year, as it has been licensed to Hygratek, a spinoff company that Tuteja founded with assistance from Innovation Partnerships at the university.
The University of Michigan has applied for a patent based on this technology.
Stock markets in the US ended the week sharply down following tough comments by the head of the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve…reports Asian Lite News
Indian markets are also likely to react negatively on Monday to statements by the US Federal Reserve after US markets fell more than 3 per cent.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head, Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said: “US Fed statements post the Jakson Hole symposium indicated the central bank’s strong commitment towards controlling inflation over growth. In cues for major central banks across the world, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that inflation is likely to remain higher for longer period and thus require aggressive stance.
“This is likely to be negative for equity markets. The impact was clearly visible in US markets which fell more than 3 per cent. Indian markets are also likely to react negatively on Monday with increasing volatility over the next few days.”
Stock markets in the US ended the week sharply down following tough comments by the head of the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, the BBC reported.
The bank’s chairman, Jerome Powell, said the bank must continue to raise interest rates to stop inflation from becoming a permanent aspect of the US economy.
His words sent US stocks into a tailspin, with markets tumbling 3 per cent.
It comes as Americans are having to pay more for basic goods.
Inflation in the world’s largest economy is at a four-decade high, the BBC reported.
During a highly anticipated speech at a conference in Wyoming on Friday, Powell said the Federal Reserve would probably impose further interest rate hikes in the coming months and could keep them high “for some time”.
“Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth,” he said at the meeting in Jackson Hole.
Investors are concerned that if economic growth falters, higher interest rates will increase the likelihood of a recession, the BBC reported.
Besides other naval combat activities, the drills included “training on homogeneous work within a joint duty force charged with the tasks of maintaining maritime security…reports Asian Lite News
The Egyptian, US and Spanish navies held a joint maritime exercise within the range of Egypt’s Northern Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, said the Egyptian military.
Ships of the US and Spanish naval forces took part in the joint drills following their visit to Egypt’s Alexandria Naval Base, Xinhua news agency reported, citng a statement by Egyptian military spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez.
The exercise, which lasts several days, was carried out by Egypt’s multi-mission Gowind-class corvette ENS El Fateh, US missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman and Spanish frigate ESPS Almirante Juan De Borbon, it said.
Besides other naval combat activities, the drills included “training on homogeneous work within a joint duty force charged with the tasks of maintaining maritime security as well as confronting threats that may affect global trade and international freedom of navigation in areas of common interest,” according to the statement.
It added that Egypt held such drills to enhance cooperation between the Egyptian Armed Forces and their counterparts in other countries, “which contributes to supporting maritime security and stability.”
Trump rejoiced that the document was “heavily redacted” before pointing out that “nothing mentioned on ‘nuclear'” and a “total public relations subterfuge by the FBI and DOJ”, reports Ashe O
Former US President Donald Trump took an unpredictable victory lap over a heavily redacted affidavit that revealed the probable cause behind the search warrant served at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this month.
On Friday, Trump took to TruthSocial, his social media app, to ostensibly rejoice that the document was “heavily redacted” before pointing out that “nothing mentioned on ‘nuclear'” and a “total public relations subterfuge by the FBI and DOJ”.
He also condemned magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who ordered the redacted affidavit, saying he should “never have allowed the break-in of my home”.
Of course, no “break-in” was allowed, but rather a search warrant to obtain classified information, possession of which would be a felony offence under a law that the former President had signed in 2018.
“He (Judge Reinhart) recused himself two months ago from one of my cases based on his animosity and hatred of your favourite President, me. What changed? Why hasn’t he recused himself in this case? Obama must be very proud of him right now,” Trump added.
Multiple media reports in the US were agog with his reaction and outbursts of his supporters led by Fox News.
Trump’s reaction appeared to be nothing more than another page from the ‘best defence is a good offence’ playbook. If he was found to have top secret and highly classified information, then he could be in a world of legal jeopardy, some reports said, which felt the former President was well on his path to an indictment.
Conservatives, that is the Republicans and Trump supporters, took to Twitter and went into a frenzy after finally seeing the heavily-redacted affidavit for the FBI raid.
Earlier on Friday, a federal judge in Florida unsealed the redacted, 38-page affidavit used to justify the search warrant executed on Trump’s Florida home.
As Fox News Digital reported soon after the document was released to the public, “20 pages of the 38-page affidavit were either significantly or fully redacted”.
After scanning through the affidavit and seeing how much was blacked out, the conservatives blasted the FBI, accusing the bureau of refusing to be transparent over the raid and not having provided clear and sufficient evidence that a raid on Trump’s home was warranted.
The Daily Wire’s Twitter account tweeted a photo of one of the pages from the document that was fully blacked-out and sarcastically commented: “This is very helpful! Thank you!”
Breaking out his own sarcastic take, Washington Times columnist Tim Young tweeted: “This affidavit is as revealing as we all assumed it would be,” while also sharing photos of sections of the document completely obscured.
Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia tweeted: “The most hilarious part of this affidavit is the media pretending that it shows something. This was done to protect President Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2024.”
The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis shared multiple images of completely redacted pages of the affidavit, commenting: “Transparency is one of DOJ’s and FBI’s passions… The DOJ and FBI are so corrupt that they’re redacting their reasons for redactions in their justification for raiding a US President’s home. However much contempt you have for these lawless agencies, it’s not nearly enough.”
Breitbart’s Joel Pollak slammed the FBI’s justification, saying: “Reading through the affidavit. So far the main complaint is that Trump’s boxes were disorganised, and that possibly sensitive stuff was mixed in with memorabilia and junk… For this, they raided a former US President’s home.”
The former President’s son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out the blacked-out images, and commented: “Well this really clears things up.”
Trump Communications director Taylor Budowich said in a series of tweets: “The release of a heavily redacted, overtly political affidavit only proves that the Biden administration is desperate to cover up their unprecedented, unnecessary, and un-American raid against President Donald J. Trump.
“This is a grave travesty, and what is unredacted only further supports President Trump’s position, there was NO reason for a raid, it is all politics.”
Conservative radio host Vince Coglianese pointed out a crucial bit of info unable to be seen in the document. “In the affidavit, the Justice Department acknowledged that Trump’s lawyers and former officials pointed to his ‘absolute authority to declassify documents’ as president. If the DOJ explains why they ignored that point, their rationale is completely redacted,” he tweeted.
“So anyway, Biden’s FBI just raided the home of his political opponent and they don’t feel the need to even tell why. In case you’re wondering how close we are to the brink,” said another conservative radio host, Jesse Kelly.
By 2026, 35 per cent of new cars in California must be zero-emission vehicles, and the quota will rise to 68 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent in 2035…reports Asian Lite News
California regulators have voted to approve a first-of-its-kind rule that would ban the sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed the 2035 ban two years ago with an executive order that directed California Air Resources Board (CARB) and others to determine how to implement the plan, Xinhua news agency reported.
The new rule requires automakers to hit milestones along the way. By 2026, 35 per cent of new cars in California must be zero-emission vehicles, and the quota will rise to 68 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent in 2035.
The rules would not impact used vehicles, allowing them to stay on the roads. The rules will not be immediate, and will go into effect in 2026, said CARB member Daniel Sperling.
“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” Newsom said on Wednesday.
Multiple states are expected to follow suit. Already, 15 states including Colorado and Minnesota, as well as states on the Northeast and West Coast, followed California’s previous zero-emission vehicle regulations, said a report of CNN.
“California is once again leading the way by establishing commonsense standards that will transition to sales of all zero-polluting cars and light-duty trucks in the state,” CNBC quoted Kathy Harris, clean vehicles advocate at the Natural Resources Defence Council, as saying.
The Trump administration in 2019 revoked California’s authority to regulate its own air quality, but the Biden administration restored that authority earlier this year, the CNBC reported.
State officials said the rule is critical to meeting the state’s goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2045, adding that resulting emissions declines would lead to fewer cardiopulmonary deaths and improved health for those suffering from asthma and other illnesses, it was reported.
Deadline states that Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in state prison upon his conviction in February 2020. …reports Asian Lite News
In a new development, ex-Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has won the right to appeal more than two years after his New York conviction for sex crimes that included third-degree rape.
Janet DiFiore, the chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, cleared a path for oral arguments next year before the entire court on whether Weinstein received a fair trial, reports ‘NBC News’.
Deadline states that Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in state prison upon his conviction in February 2020. He was found guilty of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree and third-degree rape. A lower court turned down his request for an appeal before today’s ruling granting the request.
Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said that his client was grateful for the decision. “We are hopeful the entire court will find that Mr. Weinstein did not receive a fair trial and (will) reverse his conviction,” Aidala said in a statement accessed by Deadline.
Weinstein issued a statement through a spokesman proclaiming that he is innocent. “I am so grateful to my attorneys for working hard and smart on this,” he said. “Their hard work will help me prove my innocence in the end.”
According to Deadline, the Weinstein argument is that the several witnesses were allowed to testify even though there were no charges about Weinstein’s activities with them. If his sentence is overturned, it’s possible he could be released on bail.
Weinstein remains incarcerated at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles on other sex crime charges.
The centre would initially start operations in the 2023 budget year that begins October 1 and would be fully staffed and working by 2025…reports Asian Lite News
The United States Department of Defence (DOD) is planning to launch a new centre to help avoid civilian casualties in military operations around the world through better education and training and increased screening before strikes are launched, media reported.
The latest move, reportedly ordered by Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, is seen as a reaction to the widespread criticism received by the US over the air strike in Kabul last August that killed 10 civilians, including children, during the final days of the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
According to Associated Press, a senior defence official said the development of a new Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and other improvements will cost “tens of millions of dollars” per year, and the plan more broadly would involve the addition of about 150 staff.
3,500 families flee homes in Syria’s Hasakah amid US airtstrikes
The centre would initially start operations in the 2023 budget year that begins October 1 and would be fully staffed and working by 2025, it was reported.
Laid out in a 36-page action plan, the changes approved by Austin call for updated policies and guidelines for military operations, and steps that must be taken in order to better analyse threats, assess who is on the ground and determine what other civilian structures could be affected.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force has bombed new positions manned by militias loyal to Iran in Syria for the second time in 24 hours, the American military’s Central Command and a monitoring group said on Thursday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the new airstrikes targeting posts in the countryside of Deir al-Zour resulted in the killing of three Iran-backed militia fighters, reports dpa news agency.
In its report, the US Central Command said there were two or three dead and the bombings were a response to coordinated militia rocket attacks on two American Army facilities in the region shortly before.
On Wednesday, the US Air Force attacked positions also in Deir al-Zour which are manned by a group made up of Shia fighters from Afghanistan.
The Observatory said six people were killed in Wednesday’s strikes.
“The strike was necessary to protect and defend US personnel in Syria, which had been the targets of several recent attacks by Iran-backed militia groups,” top Pentagon official Colin Kahl said Wednesday in Washington.
The US soldiers were fired on several times by the militias, he added.
“This operation is a demonstration (that) the US will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs,” Kahl said.
US forces deployed in Syria in 2015 to help their allies, especially the Syrian Kurds, in their fight against the Islamic State terror group.
The August 8 raid resulted in the FBI confiscating hundreds of documents allegedly classified that Trump allegedly took when he left office in January 2021…reports Ashe O
President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that he had no advance notice on the FBI raid on his predecessor Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (Florida) residence that led to the seizure of 11 boxes of classified documents which the Department of Justice considers evidence to book the former President under the espionage act.
Some documents related to the CIA, FBI and intelligence reports of third countries’ nuclear threats.
“I didn’t have any advance notice. None, zero. Not one single bit. Thank you,” replied Biden when asked by a journalist about it after he concluded his speech announcing student forgiveness. Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the President if he knew about the raid ahead of time. “Mr President, how much advance notice did you have of the FBI’s plan to search Mar-a-Lago,” he asked.
The August 8 raid resulted in the FBI confiscating hundreds of documents allegedly classified that Trump allegedly took when he left office in January 2021. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that he personally approved seeking the search warrant. The White House has denied being given a heads-up prior to the raid.
“The President was not briefed, was not aware of it,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre had said on August 9 a day after the raid. She had said “no one at the White House was given a heads-up”.
Biden announced he is forgiving up to $20,000 in debt of Pell Grant recipients for individuals making less than $125,000 annually and couples making under $250,000 annually. Other student debt up to $10,000 will be forgiven for those under those same qualifications.
The President also extended the moratorium on student loan payments for the last time. The moratorium, which was implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will end on December 31.
He also capped repayment of undergraduate loans at 5 percent of monthly income. An estimated 43 million borrowers can receive some form of relief under Biden’s new plan, with nearly half of them seeing their debt completely wiped off.
Progressive Democrats criticised Biden’s plan because it fell short of wider cancellation.
Meanwhile, Biden recalled his college days and his education during the speech on debt forgiveness, when he said in his opening remarks that his father’s own struggle to pay his (Biden’s) higher education bills informed his decision to grant the relief.
“My dad was like millions of parents all across the country,” Biden said. “He believed, as I do, that an education was a ticket to a better life… but over time, that ticket has become too expensive.”
Biden, 79, received an undergraduate degree in political science and history from the University of Delaware in 1965, according to the university’s website. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the Law school at Syracuse University in New York in 1968, according to the law school’s magazine.
He has championed the fact that he attended a state school, in consonance with his long-embraced nickname “Middle-Class Joe”. He is also the first President to not have attended an Ivy League school since Ronald Reagan, according to Newsweek.
“I remember my senior year, I got into one of the little ‘Ivy’s’ and I got into a number of other schools,” Biden said on Wednesday, as he recounted his family’s struggle to get the money to pay for an expensive education.
Judge orders release of redacted Mar-a-Lago affidavit
A judge has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release a redacted version of the affidavit used to seek the search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“I find that the government has met its burden of showing a compelling reason/good cause to seal portions of the affidavit,” Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida Bruce Reinhart wrote in the latest court order on Thursday.
Reinhart gave the DOJ until Friday noon to file in the public docket a version of the affidavit.
It was unclear whether the Department would appeal.
Reinhart issued the order hours after the DOJ said it had filed its proposed redactions to the affidavit.
Multiple US media organizations asked Reinhart to unseal the affidavit, following the release of the warrant that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents executed to search the estate located in Palm Beach earlier this month.
The DOJ has opposed the unsealing of the affidavit, claiming that the move would undermine “an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security”.
The media outlets had argued that the significant public interest in the affidavit justifies disclosing at least part of it.
Trump and many Republicans have denounced what they called a “raid” on Mar-a-Lago and repeatedly lashed out at the FBI and the DOJ.
Speaking on the matter for the first time, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he had “zero” advance notice before the search.
The FBI operation on Mar-a-Lago was part of the DOJ’s investigation into whether Trump had mishandled classified documents.
The unsealed warrant listed three potential criminal violations — concealment or removal of federal records, destruction or alteration of records in a federal investigation, and transmitting defense information.
A “receipt for property” included 33 seized items, including 11 sets of documents described either as “classified/TS/SCI”, “top secret”, “secret” or “confidential”.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and claimed all documents taken by FBI agents were declassified.
The former leader said on Monday that his attorneys have demanded the DOJ be instructed to immediately stop the review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
From bipartisan action on gun control, infrastructure and domestic technology manufacturing to Democrats-only efforts to tackle climate change and health care costs, Biden highlighted the achievements of the party’s unified but razor-thin control of Washington…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden called on Democrats Thursday “to vote to literally save democracy once again” — and compared Republican ideology to “semi-fascism” — as he led a kickoff rally and a fundraiser in Maryland 75 days out from the midterm elections.
Addressing an overflow crowd of thousands at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Biden said: “Your right to choose is on the ballot this year. The Social Security you paid for from the time you had a job is on the ballot. The safety of your kids from gun violence is on the ballot, and it’s not hyperbole, the very survival of our planet is on the ballot.”
“You have to choose,” Biden added. “Will we be a country that moves forward or a country that moves backward?”
The events, in the safely Democratic Washington suburbs, were meant to ease Biden into what White House aides say will be an aggressive season of championing his policy victories and aiding his party’s candidates. He is aiming to turn months of accomplishments into political energy as Democrats have seen their hopes rebound amid the legacy-defining burst of action by Biden and Congress.
From bipartisan action on gun control, infrastructure and domestic technology manufacturing to Democrats-only efforts to tackle climate change and health care costs, Biden highlighted the achievements of the party’s unified but razor-thin control of Washington. And he tried to sharpen the contrast with Republicans, who once seemed poised for sizable victories in November.
Just months ago, as inflation soared, Biden’s poll numbers soured and his agenda stalled, Democrats braced for significant losses. But the intense voter reaction to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and a productive summer on issues of core concern to Democrats have the party feeling like it is finally on the offensive heading into the Nov. 8 vote, even as the president remains unpopular.
Ahead of the rally, Biden raised about $1 million at an event with about 100 donors for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund in the backyard of a lavish Bethesda home.
After his speech at the rally, Biden lingered with the largely mask-free crowd for nearly 30 minutes, diving back into the style of campaigning that had been disrupted for Democrats for more than two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president, who was identified as a close contact of first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday when she was diagnosed with a “rebound” case of the virus, did not appear to wear a face covering as he posed for selfies and hugged supporters.
Biden’s Thursday events come a day after the president moved to fulfill a long-delayed campaign pledge to forgive federal student loans for lower- and middle-income borrowers — a move that Democrats believe will animate younger and Black and Latino voters.
Republicans, though, saw their own political advantage in the move, casting it as an unfair giveaway to would-be Democratic voters.
“President Biden’s inflation is crushing working families, and his answer is to give away even more government money to elites with higher salaries,” said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrats are literally using working Americans’ money to try to buy themselves some enthusiasm from their political base.”
Biden on Thursday expanded on his effort to paint Republicans as the “ultra-MAGA” party — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — opposing his agenda and embracing conservative ideological proposals as well as Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden told donors at the fundraiser. “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semi-fascism.”
“I respect conservative Republicans,” Biden said later. “I don’t respect these MAGA Republicans.”
The Republican National Committee called Biden’s comments “Despicable.”
“Biden forced Americans out of their jobs, transferred money from working families to Harvard lawyers, and sent our country into a recession while families can’t afford gas and groceries,” said spokesperson Nathan Brand. “Democrats don’t care about suffering Americans — they never did.”
Since the June Supreme Court ruling removing women’s constitutional protections for abortion, Democrats have seen a boost in donations, polling and performance in special elections for open congressional seats. The latest came Tuesday in a Hudson Valley swing district that, in a Republican wave year, should have been an easy GOP win. Instead, Democrat Pat Ryan, who campaigned on a platform of standing up for abortion rights, defeated Republican Marc Molinaro.
“MAGA Republicans don’t have a clue about the power of women,” Biden said, noting the resonance of the abortion issue with women voters as some in the GOP push a national ban on the procedure. “Let me tell you something: They are about to find out.”
The shift is giving Democrats a new sense that a Republican sweep of the House is no longer such a sure bet, particularly battle-tested incumbents polling better than Biden work their districts.
Meanwhile, Democrats have benefited from Republican candidates who won primaries but are struggling in the general campaign. Trump-backed Senate candidates have complicated the GOP’s chances in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, while several Trump-aligned candidates in House races were not always the party’s first choice.
Trump’s grip on the GOP remains strong and has perhaps even become tighter in the aftermath of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home.
JB Poersch, the president of Senate Majority Project, an outside group that is working to elect Democrats to the Senate, said the Republican candidates are “getting caught up in the Trump tornado once again — that is exactly what voters of both parties don’t want.”
Biden’s political event, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, comes as the president and members of his Cabinet are set to embark on what the White House has billed as the “Building a Better America Tour” to promote “the benefits of the President’s accomplishments and the Inflation Reduction Act to the American people and highlight the contrast with Congressional Republicans’ vision.”
Meanwhile, the White House has benefited from a steady decline in gasoline prices, which, while still elevated, have dropped daily since mid-June.
Upon her arrival at the Taipei Songshan Airport, Blackburn was greeted by a senior Foreign Ministry official, Douglas Yu-tien Hsu….reports Asian Lite News
US Senator Marsha Blackburn arrived in Taiwan for a for surprise visit marking the third American Congressional delegation visit to the island this month amid rising tensions with China, Taipei’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said on Friday.
Contrary to earlier reports, Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, arrived late Thursday night unaccompanied by other members of Congress, reports dpa news agency.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry expressed appreciation to the US for its show of support amid rising regional tension and growing pressure from China.
It said that Blackburn’s visit will help strengthen the Taiwan-US partnership.
Thank you, @iingwen, for your strong leadership in standing up against the Chinese Communist Party.
Upon her arrival at the Taipei Songshan Airport, Blackburn was greeted by a senior Foreign Ministry official, Douglas Yu-tien Hsu.
On Friday morning, President Tsai Ing-wen received Blackburn, the state-run Central News Agency said.
During her stay, Blackburn will conduct discussions on issues including Taiwan-US security and trade relations with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, the Foreign Ministry said.
The American Institute in Taiwan said that Blackburn “will visit Taiwan from August 25-27, 2022, as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
“Senator Blackburn will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, Taiwan in the international community, and other significant issues of mutual interest,” it added.
The arrival of Blackburn comes after recent visits by top US officials like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 2 and Senator Ed Markey on August 14, both of which drew ire from Beijing.
The Chinese military staged large-scale manoeuvres around Taiwan in response to Pelosi’s visit to the island.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contacts between Taipei and other countries.
