29 March: China warns of consequences if U.S. House Speaker meets Taiwan leader China said on Wednesday that it would take countermeasures if U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned stopover in the United States next month, calling it a “provocation”.
China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any contact between U.S. officials and Tsai, seeing it as support for the island’s independence.
China conducted military exercises around Taiwan last August when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, and Taiwan’s military has said they are monitoring any Chinese movements when Tsai is abroad.
Tsai is scheduled to leave on Wednesday for a trip to Guatemala and Belize that will include transit through New York and Los Angeles. While not officially confirmed, she is expected to meet McCarthy while in California, at the end of her trip.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters in Beijing that Tsai’s “transits” of the United States were not just her waiting at the airport or hotel, but for her to meet U.S. officials and lawmakers.
“If she has contact with U.S. House Speaker McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” she said.
“We firmly oppose this and will definitely take measures to resolutely fight back,” Zhu added, without giving details.
The United States says such transits by Taiwanese presidents are routine and that China should not use Tsai’s trip to take any aggressive actions against Taiwan.
Taiwanese presidents regularly pass through the United States while visiting diplomatic allies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, which, although not official visits, are often used by both sides for high-level meetings.