Kevin McCarthy to Meet With Taiwan’s President in California Amid CCP Threats

The Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, confirmed on April 3 that he will be meeting with Taiwan’s President, Tsai Ing-wen, on April 5 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California amidst threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to reports, President Tsai had already met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in New York City. This meeting was reported by Punchbowl News.

President Tsai transited through New York on her way to Guatemala and Belize, and she will be doing the same on her way back to Taiwan via California. The term “transit” is used because the United States and Taiwan have unofficial diplomatic relations, and they follow Washington’s “One China” policy. This policy maintains a strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually come under their control. Taiwan, on the other hand, is a democracy that has its own government, constitution, currency, and military.

The State Department’s deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, stated on March 29 that “Transits by high-level Taiwan authorities are not visits. They are private and unofficial, and they are not new. 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 clarified that there are no plans for President Joe Biden and President Tsai to meet, and no member of the Biden administration is expected to meet with her publicly.

The CCP has warned of retaliation if McCarthy and President Tsai meet, and they reiterated their strong opposition to interactions between U.S. and Taiwanese officials.