Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meets tonight with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who ranks third in the US.
According to foreign media such as Reuters on the 4th (local time), President Tsai arrived in Los Angeles, USA after visiting Guatemala and Belize on the same day, and will meet with House Speaker McCarthy the next day (5th).
Previously, House Speaker McCarthy said in a statement, “I will host a bipartisan meeting with President Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on the 5th.”
Other Republican lawmakers are also known to be attending the meeting, including pop hardliner Mike Gallagher, chairman of the US-China Strategic Competition Task Force.
In addition, US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCall and other members of the House of Representatives will also visit Taiwan on the 6th to meet with President Tsai, Taiwan Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
It is not uncommon for Taiwan’s president to visit the US as a stopover, but this is the first time he has held talks in the US with the Speaker of the House, who is third in the line after the Vice President, who succeeds to the presidency.
In response, China strongly urged President Tsai to cancel the talks, saying that his visit to the United States violated the “one China” principle.
The Chinese consulate general in Los Angeles issued a statement saying, “Do not repeat the mistakes of the past,” and insisted that the meeting between the two would “exacerbate China-US relations.”
In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had no right to criticize Taiwan because China had never ruled Taiwan, and that it would “never give in even if China continues to exert coercion.”
The U.S. also responded by saying, “There is no reason to overreact.”
Meanwhile, on the 31st of last month, a total of nine Chinese military aircraft passed through the center line of the Taiwan Strait, and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted intensive military exercises in the East China Sea, continuing high-intensity armed demonstrations.
China also staged a high-intensity armed demonstration in the form of besieging Taiwan when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August of last year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.