Last August, during her visit to Taiwan, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi conveyed a resolute message to China, affirming that the United States would support the island nation’s democracy and sovereignty.
Kevin McCarthy, the newly elected US House Speaker and a California Republican, seems to not go down the same road as Financial Times reported that he will meet Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen in California to avoid China’s aggression.
According to a report by Financial Times, Kevin McCarthy, the recently elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives and a California Republican, will meet Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen in California in order to avoid any potential aggression from China.
Tsai Ing-wen and McCarthy have both agreed to hold the meeting in California as the Taiwanese president is set to visit Central America in April. According to the report, the meeting was fixed in the US and not in Taiwan so that the muscular manoeuvres by the Chinese military, like that displayed by Beijing during Pelosi’s visit, could be avoided.
China’s military exercises near Taiwan were seen as a signal to the US to not back Taiwan’s quest for independence and to respect the One-China policy. Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, being the second by a US House Speaker, caused a great uproar in China.
The island nation was visited by Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
According to a Taiwanese official, McCarthy’s team has been provided with some intelligence on potential threats from China. The official stated that they shared information regarding the recent activities of the Chinese Communist Party and the kinds of risks it poses. The official further mentioned that Beijing is currently facing challenges, and Chinese President Xi Jinping and his inner circle may have more decisions to make in the future. This information was reported by FT.
Southern California’s Reagan Library has invited Taiwan’s president to speak there, but McCarthy’s office has declined to comment on the matter.