Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) will meet Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen in California rather than Taipei to avoid triggering an aggressive response from China.
In January, the Pentagon was in the early stages of planning McCarthy’s visit to Taiwan, an official told Punchbowl News. McCarthy had publicly expressed his desire to follow Nancy Pelosi in visiting the island which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims as its own, although the PRC has never controlled Taiwan.
Pelosi led a congressional delegation there last August, becoming the first House speaker to do so since Newt Gingrich in 1997. In response, the People’s Liberation Army held huge exercises, including firing missiles over Taiwan for the first time.
To avoid a similar flare-up, Tsai will meet with McCarthy in southern California and speak at the Ronald Reagan Library, the Financial Times reported Monday. She will also visit New York and Central America in the early April trip.
Tsai, whose term ends in January, previously visited the Reagan Library in 2018 and made remarks, but not a formal speech.
“We shared some intelligence about what the Chinese Communist Party is recently up to and the kinds of threats they pose,” a senior Taiwanese official told the Financial Times about information Taipei had provided to McCarthy’s team. The official added China was “not in a good situation right now.”
The scrapping of McCarthy’s trip also follows a direct warning from China.
“We urge certain individuals in the U.S. to earnestly abide by the one-China principle,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement obtained by The Hill last month, indirectly referring to McCarthy’s plans. He added that China is “opposed to any official interactions with Taiwan.”
While U.S. adherence to the “one China” policy means it does not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, the U.S. has consistently supported Taiwan both economically and militarily as a democratic bulwark against China.
“In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its freedom,” wrote Pelosi in a Washington Post op-ed.
Additionally, on Monday, Taiwan made it clear it is increasingly concerned about China making a direct move against the island.
According to Al Jazeera, the Taiwanese defense minister explained the island must be on alert this year for a “sudden entry” by the Chinese military into areas close to its territory. Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng also said that Taiwan will exercise its right to self-defense and counterattack if armed forces enter the island.