House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met with visiting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday, despite threats from Communist China.
“I’m optimistic that we will continue to find ways for the people of America and Taiwan to work together and promote economic freedom, democracy, peace and stability,” McCarthy said when welcoming Tsai to the Reagan Library, where a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers had gathered to meet with her.
Tsai responded by comparing her welcome to the warm California sun and saying she was “so pleased” by her reception.
Wednesday marked the first meeting between a Taiwanese president and the U.S. House Speaker, nominally third in line for the presidency in a time of crisis, to be held on U.S. soil. McCarthy is the most senior U.S. official to meet with a Taiwanese leader on American soil in over 40 years.
McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visited Taiwan last August, enraging the Chinese government, who responded by holding a series of intimidating military drills near the island. Several Chinese ships and warplanes approached Taiwan’s coast ahead of the McCarthy-Tsai meeting, including a “large-scale patrol and rescue vessel,” and China’s aircraft carrier Shandong, but the response thus far has been much smaller than China’s tantrum after the Pelosi visit.
“Repeating a mistake does not make it legitimate,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday, alluding to the Pelosi visit.
“The issue is not about China overreacting, but the U.S. egregiously conniving at and supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists,” Mao said, using one of Beijing’s favorite epithets for Tsai.
The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, sent a four-page email to members of Congress on Tuesday warning them not to meet with Tsai. The email said China would view “any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan” during Tsai’s stop in California as a “blatant provocation.”
The message from the Chinese embassy said the leaders of the Communist tyranny would “most likely take necessary and resolute actions” if the meeting with Tsai went forward.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), a recipient of the email, called it a “pathetic threat from the Chinese Communist Party” and said Americans are “never going to cower.”
“I look forward to meeting with President Tsai and reaffirming our commitment to Taiwan and freedom-loving nations everywhere,” Hinson said.
“Beijing should not use the transit as an excuse to take any actions to ratchet up tensions, to further push it changing the status quo,” responded Secretary of State Antony Blinken from a news conference in Brussels.
Reuters noted demonstrations both for, and against, Tsai at the Reagan Library on Wednesday:
Supporters waving Taiwan flags and pro-Taiwan and Hong Kong banners chanted “Jiayou Taiwan” – the equivalent of “Go Taiwan” – in the Reagan Library parking lot ahead of Tsai and McCarthy’s arrival for the highest-level meeting for a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
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!”
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tsai after the meeting, McCarthy said the Reagan Library was a fitting venue for meeting with Taiwan’s leader because of President Reagan’s “patriotic spirit,” “belief in democracy,” and “commitment to the ideas of peace and freedom.”
“Those values have always served as the bedrock of our friendship with the people of Taiwan,” McCarthy said, praising that relationship as “stronger now than at any point in my lifetime.”
“Taiwan is a successful democracy, a thriving economy, and a global leader in health and science,” he said. “Whether it’s our deep commercial ties, strong people-to-people relationships, or shared values, our cooperation with the people of Taiwan continues to expand through dialogue and exchange.”
Tsai said the “unwavering support” displayed by the bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers assembled at the Reagan Library “reassures the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated, and we are not alone.”
Tsai recalled President Reagan and the congressional leaders of his day working together to “lay the foundations for a strong and unique partnership over four decades.”
“It is no secret that today, the peace that we have maintained, and the democracy we have worked hard to build, are facing unprecedented challenges,” she said. “We once again find ourselves in a world where democracy is under threat, and the urgency of keeping the beacon of freedom shining cannot be understated.”
Tsai said she told the gathered congressional leaders that Taiwan is committed to “defending the peaceful status quo, where the people of Taiwan may continue to thrive in a free and open society.”
“We’re stronger when we are together,” she said.
Tsai expressed particular gratitude for U.S. initiatives aimed at “enhancing Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, fostering robust trade and economic ties between us, and supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community.”
“Taiwan strives to be a reliable partner to the world, a cornerstone for stability in the region, and a force for good,” she said.
Strategic analysts told the L.A. Times on Wednesday that for all of China’s bluster, its response to the Tsai-McCarthy meeting would probably be muted because Beijing is currently trying to sell itself as a global peacemaker and Taiwan has elections coming up in January 2024, so China might want to avoid acts of naked aggression that could alienate Taiwanese voters. Tsai is finishing up her second term and is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third.
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