Taiwan’s President in the US
Beijing furious over meeting with McCarthy
4/6/2023 2:27 am
Taiwan President Tsai is in the US to meet US House Speaker McCarthy. Beijing had already warned in advance and is now announcing “decisive measures”.
Despite warnings from China, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has met with the senior US House of Representatives in California. Republican Kevin McCarthy, as President of the Chamber of Congress, is the third most important figure in the American state. There has not been a meeting at this level on US territory since 1979. Beijing reacted angrily and announced a “determined reaction”.
Tsai visited New York last week before traveling on to Central America. The meeting with McCarthy took place in Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley near Los Angeles. Tsai had previously been received by a large group of Republican and Democrat lawmakers. The Taiwan President called the reception proof that Taiwan has friends in the international community and “that we are not isolated and not alone”.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken had previously stated that Tsai was in transit with stays in the United States that were private and unofficial in nature. This is not unusual and China should not use the process as an excuse to escalate tensions.
In August, a visit to Taiwan by McCarthy’s predecessor, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, prompted a Chinese naval exercise. According to the Ministry of Defense in Taipei, the Chinese formation around the aircraft carrier “Shandong” was off the south-east coast of the island on Wednesday.
Following the meeting with Tsai, McCarthy said the conversation was very productive. The US must continue its arms sales to Taiwan and its economic cooperation, especially in trade and technology. McCarthy also pledged further support to Taiwan.
Beijing speaks of “serious violation of the one-China policy”
China’s Foreign Ministry condemned the meeting as “secret collusion” and announced it would take decisive measures to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity “in response to the grave mistakes,” state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The meeting was a “grave breach of the one-China policy,” and McCarthy’s actions “seriously breached the US commitment to China on the Taiwan question.”
Since the split between mainland China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland – if necessary using military force. The Taiwan issue is “a red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations,” the State Department added.
The Chinese Defense Ministry also condemned the meeting. “We firmly oppose any form of official interaction between the United States and Taiwan, as well as any visit to the United States by a senior Taiwan official (…),” the ministry said, according to Xinhua. In the run-up to Tsai’s visit, China had warned the United States against “playing with fire.” A “serious confrontation” threatens.