LOS ANGELES: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy despite threats of unspecified retaliation from China, with the leader of the self-ruled island strident in her defense of democracy.
After a meeting with a bipartisan group of more than a dozen US lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Tsai and McCarthy both highlighted that relations between Taiwan and the United States remain strong.
"It is no secret that today the peace that we have maintained and the democracy which we have worked hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges," said Tsai, who is on the way back to Taiwan after visiting Guatemala and Belize, two of the island's few remaining official diplomatic partners, via New York last week.
McCarthy is the highest-ranking US politician a Taiwanese leader has met on US soil since Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Although US officials have repeatedly said her stopovers are unofficial, China swiftly and sharply reacted to the interaction, condemning it as seriously infringing its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In the days leading up to the meeting, China dialed up the rhetoric and warned it would take "resolute measures" if the two went ahead with their plan. A statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the United States to "stop upgrading substantive relations with Taiwan, stop creating factors that could cause tensions in the Taiwan Strait, stop containing China by exploiting the Taiwan question, and not go further down the wrong and dangerous path".
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Defence Ministry said the People's Liberation Army of China will "always keep on high alert" to "resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait".
Amid increasing pressure from China, Tsai, who last transited the United States in 2019, told the press, "We must be strong. I would like to add that we are stronger when we are together." Tsai disclosed that she had reiterated to McCarthy her resolve to guard "the peaceful status quo," while expressing gratitude to cross-party members of US Congress for standing by Taiwan.
McCarthy, a Republican from California, said the values of "peace and freedom" underpin their friendly relationship. "They are more important now than ever before. I believe our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my lifetime," he said, praising Tsai as a "great champion" of the partnership.
His Democratic predecessor Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan last August outraged China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. In response to the visit by Pelosi, who became the most senior US official to set foot in Taiwan in a quarter century, China closed down military-to-military communication channels with Washington.
China also staged large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, which included the firing of ballistic missiles, some of which fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone. Pelosi offered unusual praise for McCarthy on Wednesday, issuing a statement saying the meeting should be "commended for its leadership, its bipartisan participation and its distinguished and historic venue".
Even after severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the United States, like many other countries, has maintained unofficial ties with the island, while sticking to its long-time "one-China" policy. The United States, however, has never officially recognized Beijing's claim to the island and remains its key provider of defense assistance.
McCarthy later said at a press conference that it has become clear several actions are needed following Wednesday's conversations. "First, we must continue arms sales to Taiwan and make sure such sales reach Taiwan on a very timely basis," he said. "Second, we must strengthen our economic cooperation, particularly with trade and technology. Third, we must continue to promote our shared values on the world stage."
McCarthy had earlier expressed hope to visit Taiwan if he was elected to the top leadership post in the US House. Asked about the possibility of realizing that wish, McCarthy said he has no such plans at the moment, but "There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go and who I can speak to, whether you be foe or whether you be friend".
