US House Speaker McCarthy greets Taiwan president despite Beijing’s threats

Issued on: 05/04/2023 – 19:32

Duelling demonstrations from both pro-Beijing and pro-Taipei camps gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley for Tsai’s arrival on what is officially a stop-over between Latin America and the self-ruled island.

After McCarthy and Tsai went inside, a small plane flew over the library towing a pro-Beijing banner saying “One China! Taiwan is part of China!”

During the meeting, McCarthy expressed optimism that the US and Taiwan would continue to “work together to promote freedom, democracy, peace and stability.”

“The friendship between America and the people of Taiwan has never been stronger,” the House speaker, who is second in line to the US presidency, added in a tweet.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and balks at any official contact Taipei has with other countries.

This week it warned McCarthy, a Republican and California native, that he was “playing with fire” by meeting Tsai.

“China is strongly opposed to the US arranging for Tsai Ing-wen to transit through its territory, and is strongly opposed to the meeting between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the third-ranking US official, and Tsai Ing-wen,” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.

“It seriously violates the One-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and seriously undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.

Taiwan, a flourishing democracy, has been self-governing for decades. It has its own military, an independent judiciary and all the trappings of a fully functioning state.

But only a handful of countries acknowledge it as a sovereign nation.

The United States formally recognizes Beijing, but is an important backer of Taiwan, and maintains strong unofficial ties.

Taipei enjoys strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, and has grown closer to Washington under Tsai’s leadership.

Pelosi precedent

Last year, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s predecessor, sparked fury in Beijing by becoming the most senior US politician to visit the island in over two decades.

That prompted Beijing to launch its largest-ever military exercises in waters around Taiwan.

McCarthy had originally planned to go himself, but has opted instead to meet Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

The decision to meet in the United States was viewed as a compromise that would underscore support for Taiwan but avoid inflaming tensions with China.

Tsai’s visit to southern California comes after trips to Guatemala and Belize and after a brief stop in New York last week, where she was greeted by flag-waving Taiwanese expatriates.

“We have demonstrated a firm will and resolve to defend ourselves, that we are capable of managing risks with calm and composure and that we have the ability to maintain regional peace and stability,” she said in New York.

China’s consulate in Los Angeles said on Monday the meeting in California would “greatly hurt the national feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese people” and undermine “the political foundation of China-US relations.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)