Kevin McCarthy confirms he WILL meet Taiwanese President in California this week
Kevin McCarthy Confirms He Will Meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen In California: House Speaker Ignores China Threat For High Level Meeting In California
- McCarthy will meet with Taiwan’s president at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday.
- The speaker has not ruled out going to Taiwan for more meetings in the future.
- US leaders continue to recognize Taiwan’s autonomy, leading to increased threats from China.
Kevin McCarthy will host Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in his home state on Wednesday for a bilateral meeting instead of traveling to the island nation amid mounting threats from China.
The high-level, bipartisan meeting will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, his office announced Monday.
The Speaker of the House is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, by signaling his support for Taiwan autonomy from the Chinese Communist Party, but he will not travel to the small nation in the South China Sea.
But the meeting in Los Angeles doesn’t mean McCarthy won’t visit Taiwan at a later date, despite the careful steps the nation’s president took on her most recent trip west.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office confirmed Monday that he will host Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday amid growing threats from China. .
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation to Taiwan last August to meet with leaders, including Tsai (pictured).
McCarthy told reporters earlier this month that meeting the Taiwanese president in the United States “has nothing to do with my trip, whether I would go to Taiwan or not.”
‘China can’t tell me where or when to go, and none of those discussions happened. If the president is in the United States, I will meet with her,” he added.
The planned meeting has already drawn threats from China with the Associated Press reporting that the CCP has promised ‘firm countermeasures’ after the visit.
Tsai’s carefully orchestrated trip has been billed as her “transit” across the United States via California to Taiwan on her way back from official engagements in Central America.
The Taiwanese president has reportedly already met with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries while “transiting” through his home state of New York.
McCarthy’s upcoming meeting will draw even more Chinese ire, as Beijing and President Xi Jinping continue to claim Taiwan as their territory despite the international community’s recognition of the small island nation’s autonomy.