LOS ANGELES, Calif.—House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, despite saber-rattling from the Chinese communist regime.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) and a bipartisan Congressional delegation welcomed Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Library Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
At the start of a meeting, McCarthy called Tsai “a great friend to America.” “I am optimistic we will continue to find ways for the people of America and Taiwan to work together to promote economic freedom, democracy, peace and stability,”
Tsai thanked McCarthy for his hospitality, calling it warm, like the California sunshine, and also thanked the rest of the congressional delegation.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, thanked Tsai “for your partnership and cooperation for 40 years.” “The United States and Taiwan have worked together to promote economic growth, democracy, and security,” the lawmaker said.
Supporters waving Taiwan flags and pro-Taiwan and Hong Kong banners chanted “Jiayou Taiwan”—the equivalent of “Go Taiwan”—in the Reagan Library parking lot ahead of Tsai and McCarthy’s arrival for the highest-level meeting for a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
The historic meeting came amid escalating threats and military harassment of Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party.
On the eve of the meeting, the Chinese Embassy sent a threatening email to members of the delegation, warning them to cancel the event. “China will not sit idly by in the face of a blatant provocation and will most likely take necessary and resolute actions in response to the unwanted situation,” the email read.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said there was nothing new about a Taiwanese president transiting through the U.S. and Beijing should not use it as an excuse to take action or ratchet up tensions.
Earlier in the day, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported a Chinese aircraft carrier group was in the waters off the island’s southeast coast. A day earlier the Chinese regime sent 20 Chinese aircraft and three naval vessels near the island, and nine aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait, entering Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. In response, Taiwan has deployed aircraft, navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to monitor the Chinese military’s activities.
The CCP has vowed to respond with “resolute measures” over the McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Mao’s statements as “increasingly absurd,” stating Taiwan will not back down in the face of China’s authoritarian government and intimidation tactics.
Last August, the CCP staged a military show of force around Taiwan after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taipei, the island’s capital.
John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council told reporters on Monday that Beijing’s rhetoric was expected, and but that “there’s no reason for the Chinese to overreact.”
Tsai’s U.S. stopover visits to Los Angeles and New York come in the wake of meetings with allies in Latin America over the last few days to strengthen Taiwan’s foreign relations there.
Last week, Honduras became the latest county to cave to CCP pressure and break diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Costa Rica have also switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in recent years. China is believed to have offered loans and heavy investments to some of those countries in exchange for allegiance.
Meanwhile, European nations such as the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania have deepened their links with Taiwan. Like the United States, Canada and Australia have also strengthened diplomatic and economic ties with Taiwan.
The CCP claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island. Taiwan has been governed independently since China’s communist revolution in 1949, but the CCP views the island as part of its territory and has vowed to eventually unify Taiwan with the Chinese mainland using military force if necessary.
The United States does not have formal diplomatic links with Taiwan but maintains robust ties under the Taiwan Relations Act, under which Washington is bound to supply Taipei with the means to defend itself from a CCP attack.
The California meeting was the first on U.S. soil between a House speaker and a Taiwanese leader, and Tsai’s seventh transit since she took office in 2016.