Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday.
Beijing condemned the high-profile encounter after
previously threatening to retaliate if Tsai met with McCarthy on her way
back from a trip to Central America.
- Tsai met with McCarthy in California during her return journey from a diplomatic visit to Guatemala and Belize.
- She
delivered a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi
Valley, in which she called for the U.S. to continue supporting Taiwan.
- Tsai
said democracy in Taiwan was "under threat" and invoked the memory of
the late Ronald Reagan, who played a key role in strengthening
U.S.-Taiwan relations during his presidency.
- McCarthy responded
to a question about possible U.S. military action in defense of Taiwan
by saying it was a "hypothetical" situation that the U.S. should seek to
avoid.
- The Chinese government has viewed Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949.
- In late March, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said that
Beijing would view any meeting with McCarthy as "another provocation,"
that would harm "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
- China launched large-scale military drills near Taiwan after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August 2022.
