AUGUSTA, Maine — Just a day after being sworn into office on Wednesday, a trio of state lawmakers, two Democrats and one Republican, will head to Taiwan on a trade mission.
Sens. John Patrick, D-Rumford, and Brian Langley, R-Ellsworth, along with state Rep. Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, will leave Thursday on the trip paid for by the Taiwanese government.
All three men are incumbents who were re-elected in November. Democrats in the House elected McCabe to serve as majority leader for the 127th Legislature, which will be sworn in on Wednesday.
McCabe and Patrick both served on the Legislature’s Labor Commerce Research and Economic Development Committee during the 126th Legislature.
Patrick said Monday that the mission was meant to help Maine’s paper industry, which has seen two mills close in recent months, putting hundreds of employees out of jobs.
Patrick is a journeyman mechanic who has worked for 32 years at NewPage Paper Co.’s mill in Rumford, according to his legislative profile.
Skowhegan, represented by McCabe, also is home of Sappi North America’s Somerset Mill.
Langley is a retired culinary arts teacher who owns a restaurant in Ellsworth. His district includes Hancock County towns near Bucksport, where Verso Paper is in the process of shutting down a paper mill this week.
McCabe said Tuesday that the trip is an annual journey made by a group of lawmakers from the New England states. He said the week-long trip would include a large number of “meet and greet” events.
The paper industry may come up, but there was no specific agenda around papermaking, according to McCabe.
“It’s more to just help develop connections and ties for every kind of economic development,” McCabe said.
Langley, who served as the lead Senate Republican on the Legislature’s Education Committee during the previous Legislature, is likely to chair the committee when Republicans take the majority in the Senate starting Wednesday.
He said he was interested in learning more about Taiwan’s education system, where students generally outperform U.S. students academically.
“I always like to see if there is something useful we can take back and apply here in Maine,” Langley said.
Langley, who has traveled in Asia before, most recently to Japan, said he’s looking forward to the time away from the Legislature with his Democratic colleagues.
While they are from different parties, he said he’s worked well with Patrick and McCabe in the past and was looking forward to sharing some of Taiwan’s cuisine with them.
A chef by training, Langley quipped, “I’m going to enjoy the look on Sen. Patrick’s face when I slide a piece of raw fish across the table toward him.”
He said he usually spends time on his travels to talk up Maine lobster but also to learn what the state and industry need to do to better market the state’s iconic shellfish to the rest of the world.
“I like to hear from them what they need in order to better help us on the marketing end of things here,” Langley said.
He said the itinerary for the trip includes specific visits that incorporate the various interests of all the lawmakers on the trip in hopes of strengthening economic ties between Taiwan and New England.
The trip is sponsored by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston. The lawmakers will return to the U.S. on Dec. 12.