According to a media notice, former Alaska Governor and U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski and his wife Nancy have traveled to Taiwan at the invitation of an international fair elections committee to help observe the country's Jan. 14 presidential election.
The Murkowskis join a select group of civic activists and political and academic leaders from around the world strongly committed to Taiwan's values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law. The committee's purpose will be to observe the election process and, without endorsing any party or candidate, make certain that it is fair, free, open and peaceful.
While Murkowski was a member of the U.S. Senate and Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Pacific and East Asian Affairs, in 1986, he traveled to the Philippines with a select group of U.S. Senators to observe the election between incumbent President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Corazon C. Aquino, the notice says.
"Our presence there was clearly a stabilizing factor in insuring the election process was open and transparent. It is my hope that with the collective support of our Committee, our presence will be seen as a reaffirmation of the democratic process we all cherish," Murkowski said.
Frank and Nancy will arrive in Taipei on Jan. 9 and return to the United States on Jan. 16.