China has threatened to retaliate against the United States and Taiwan following a planned meeting between Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing Wenand the Speaker of the House of Representatives, kevin mccarthy. Beijing has repeatedly alleged that their joint action is intended to clandestinely promote Taiwanese independence and has threatened to take “strong countermeasures” if the two leaders meet.
The Taiwanese president has embarked on a trip to the United States, with stops in New York and California, where the speaker of the House of Representatives, kevin mccarthyannounced that he would meet with the leader despite the warnings issued by China. Tsai left on Wednesday as part of a 10-day tour, which will also include visits to Belize and Guatemala, according to the presidential office. It will also make a stopover in Los Angeles on its return trip to the island.
“External pressure will not stop our determination to move towards international partnership,” Tsai told reporters before taking off. “We are calm, confident, uncompromising and not provocative.”
The Chinese reaction was not long in coming. Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian, criticized the impending tour on Wednesday. “If he meets with McCarthy it will be oanother provocation that seriously violates the one-China principledamages China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he declared, continuing with a threat, “We strongly oppose it and We will definitely take measures to counterattack with determination.”
Although the spokeswoman did not specify what type of countermeasures would be taken, the truth is that the visit of the former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi last year provoked a harsh reaction from Beijing, which in retaliation began unprecedented military exercises in the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan. To this day, the pressure continues.
Likewise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Beijing denounced that Washington “blindly conspires and supports the Taiwanese independence and secessionist forces.”
Repeatedly, China has urged foreign countries not to maintain direct diplomatic contacts with Taiwanese officials, insisting that it is part of their territory under the “one China” principle. Only a handful of nations recognize Taiwan as an independent state, and although Washington is not among them, some US lawmakers regularly travel to the island for official meetings, while the State Department it has approved countless rounds of arms sales to Taipei over the decades.
The White House has long held a policy of “strategic ambiguity” towards Taiwanbut the president Joe Biden has largely abandoned that approach, declaring that his country would come to the defense of the island in the event of a Chinese attackwhich has sometimes caused the retreat of his own subordinates.
Tsai’s visit coincides with that of his predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, from the opposition Kuomintang, to Beijing. Ma had tried to improve Taiwan’s ties with Beijing during his tenure and is the first former Taiwanese president to visit mainland China since the two sides parted ways in 1949 over war. He arrived on Monday and will be there until April 7, a day before Tsai returns from Los Angeles.
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