US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior US figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on US soil since 1979 despite threats of retaliation from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own.
Tsai thanked the US Congress for standing by Taiwan when democracy was under threat and said she had cited former US President Ronald Reagan in telling McCarthy and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers of her belief that "to preserve peace, we must be strong".
"I would like to add that we are stronger when we are together," she said standing side-by-side with McCarthy after their meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
They stood in an atrium in front of a blue and white Boeing aircraft that Reagan flew on as president in the 1980s.
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 the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of profound importance to the free world. And it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability,” said the Republican speaker, who through his House position is number three in the US leadership hierarchy.
"We will honor our obligations and reiterate our commitment to our shared values behind which all Americans are united," he added.
'Playing with fire'
Duelling demonstrations from both pro-Beijing and pro-Taipei camps had gathered at the library for Tsai's arrival on what was officially a stop-over between Latin America and Taiwan.
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!"
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and balks at any official contact Taipei has with other countries.
This week it warned McCarthy, a California native, that he was "playing with fire" by meeting Tsai.
The meeting "seriously violates the One-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and seriously undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
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)
