McCarthy hails ‘peace’ in meeting with Taiwan’s Tsai as China fumes
By Laura Kelly
05 April 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday said his meeting with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen provided “greater peace and stability for the world,” even as China has lodged objections and warned of escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
McCarthy spoke to reporters following a meeting with Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Los Angeles, which was attended by more than a dozen Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
The Speaker said the bipartisan delegation underscored Congressional unity in supporting Taiwan’s ability to defend its democratic government against threats from the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing to overtake the island.
“I felt our meeting today provided a greater peace and stability for the world. America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan,” the Speaker said, adding that his message to Beijing is that “there’s no need for retaliation.”
Chinese officials have blasted McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai, warning of countermeasures and consequences. Its embassy in Washington sent an email to lawmakers warning that such meetings signal a “serious political provocations.”
China has also responded angrily to reports that McCarthy is planning to visit Taiwan, like his predecessor former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did last year.
McCarthy said Wednesday that while he has no plans to travel to Taiwan, he would not be intimidated from making the trip.
“That doesn’t mean I will not go,” he said. “I am the Speaker of the House. There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go or who I can speak to, whether you be foe or whether you be friend.”
