President Tsai meet with US House Speaker McCarthy in California
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Loading... - Chaiya Anurak
- 07 Apr 2023
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President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday local time. The historic meeting was the second time Tsai has met with a sitting House Speaker, and the first time any Taiwanese president has done so on US soil.
Tsai conducted a number of meetings with lawmakers from both parties behind closed doors. This was likely done to avoid angering China further by limiting the public exposure of the meetings. The People’s Republic of China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, despite having never ruled it.
When former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last August, China responded with unprecedented military exercises and missile launches around Taiwan.
The meeting itself was already seen as a form of compromise by McCarthy. He had promised to visit Taiwan during midterm elections last year. In the end, he settled on meeting Tsai during her transit through the US in his home state of California, rather than in Washington, D.C.
Despite these efforts, China demonstrated its anger at the visit through a number of channels. The Chinese embassy in Washington sent an email to members of congress on Tuesday stating that “China will not sit idly by in the face of a blatant provocation.” The embassy also said China would take “necessary and resolute measures” in response to the meeting. Beijing also carried out live-fire military joint exercises on Saturday, according to an NPR report. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the government is watching the situation closely. Read More…
