The office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) confirmed on April 3 that he will meet with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, on April 5 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Tsai reportedly met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in New York City. Punchbowl News first reported the meeting.
Tsai “transited” through New York on her way to Guatemala and Belize and she will “transit” the United States through California on her way back to Taiwan.
The U.S. State Department uses the word “transit” because the United States and Taiwan only have unofficial diplomatic relations, in accordance with Washington’s “One China” policy, which consists of strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under the regime’s control, while Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy, with its own military, currency, constitution, and elected government.
“Transits by high-level Taiwan authorities are not visits. They are private and unofficial, and they are not new,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on March 29. “Every Taiwan president has transited the United States. President Tsai has transited the U.S. six times since taking office in 2016. This will be her seventh transit.”
The White House has said there are no plans for President Joe Biden and Tsai to meet, and no other Biden administration officials are publicly expected to meet with her.
China has threatened retaliation if McCarthy and Tsai meet.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated on April 3 that Beijing strongly opposes interaction between U.S. and Taiwanese officials.
“Relevant U.S. congressman needs to abide by the ‘One China’ principle and the three China–U.S. joint communiqués, refrain from sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces, and avoid undermining the China–U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” she said.
“China will take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
McCarthy’s predecessor, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), visited Taiwan in August 2022 despite China saber-rattling ahead of the trip and flying military jets around the Pacific island nation.
Patel said on March 29 that there’s no need for China to retaliate.
“There is no reason to take countermeasures. There’s no reason for Beijing to turn this transit, which is consistent with longstanding U.S. policy, into something it’s not or to overreact,” he said. “As I said previously, we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We don’t support Taiwan independence, and we continue to expect that cross-strait differences be resolved through peaceful means.”
A senior Biden administration official told reporters last week that Tsai’s transiting across the United States shouldn’t be used by China “as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait.”
