China fury: Taiwan’s trip to the US is tight

As Speaker of the House of Congress, McCarthy was the third most important person in the US state. A meeting of this magnitude has not been held on American soil since 1979. The Republican politician took a bow at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, journalists from the AFP news agency said. Both pro-Beijing and pro-Taiwan protesters gathered in front of the building.

After the call, the reception by a large group of lawmakers from McCarthy’s Republican Party and President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party was proof that Taiwan has friends in the international community: “We assure the Taiwanese people of your presence and unwavering support. Not isolated and not alone.”

McCarthy told the crowd he was confident that the United States and Taiwan would continue to find ways to work together to promote economic freedom, democracy, peace and stability in Asia. McCarthy Tsai said a shared belief in democracy and freedom is the “foundation” of a lasting relationship.

China strongly criticizes meetings, Blinken appeases

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning spoke early on of the grave violation of China’s policy of “undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. China warns US not to ‘play with fire’ A “serious conflict” is imminent. Criticism of Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy has been particularly high-ranking in American politics.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged China not to escalate tensions with Taiwan President Tsai’s stay in the US. “In simple language, this means that Beijing should not use transit as an excuse for measures to increase tensions (…),” Blinken said in Brussels on Wednesday. Transfers of high-ranking Taiwanese politicians are nothing new. “They’re personal, they’re unofficial.” This also applies to related meetings.

A “quiet” meeting with senators in New York

Tsai, who arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening on her way back from a visit to Central America, had already stayed in New York last week. It was only later learned that Tsai had already met with a cross-party group of senators at this point.

Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joan Ernst of Iowa, a Republican, and Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat of Arizona, expressed their support for Taiwan’s democracy in a “quiet” meeting, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Also on the agenda is a bill that would impose tough economic and financial sanctions against China in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

According to the newspaper, Sullivan spoke of China’s “enormous pressure” on Taiwan and added of Tsai’s visit to the US: “When the leader of such an important democracy comes to our country, it is more important than ever to ensure that the dictators in Beijing, especially whom they may meet on American soil, It doesn’t dictate who you can’t meet.

“Hurts the National Sentiments of 1.4 Billion Chinese”

China had earlier warned the US that House Speaker McCarthy’s reception of the Taiwanese president would further strain relations between the two countries. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Los Angeles said earlier this week that the meeting would “severely hurt the national sentiments of 1.4 billion Chinese people,” undermine the “political basis of Sino-US relations” and “further damage ties.”

A visit to Taiwan last year by McCarthy’s predecessor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, caused major tensions. In August 2022, China conducted extensive military maneuvers around the islands in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Beijing views the meeting at such a high political level as a departure from the one-China principle, which is recognized by the United States and required by all countries that have diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. The United States is also the most important ally of democratically organized Taiwan.

Cracks in China-US relations

The Tsai-McCarthy meeting came at a critical time in US-China relations. Amid rising tensions from the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon to semiconductor supply chains, the U.S. and Beijing have recently been trying to “stabilize their communications,” according to CNN.

According to the American broadcaster, if Beijing now “reacts” after the Tsai-Pelosi meeting, these rapprochement efforts will fail again. Taiwan “is still suffering the consequences of that August response, as Chinese forces routinely cross the previously informal but widely respected Beijing-Taipei border in the Taiwan Strait.”