The President of Taiwan is in the United States on a visit that necessitated Beijing’s wave of retaliation
The President of Taiwan has arrived Tsai Ing-wen Wednesday, to New York, on a visit that angered Beijing, which vowed retaliation if the official met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and called for an American warning to Beijing of an “exaggerated reaction.”
The United States is a stopover for Tsai, who is heading to Central America on a tour during which she will meet the leaders of Guatemala and Belize to strengthen relations with these two diplomatic allies of Taiwan.
On her return to Taiwan, Tsai will make a stopover in California, where McCarthy had announced he would meet her.
Belize and Guatemala are among the 13 countries that still officially recognize Taiwan, not Beijing, following Honduras established diplomatic relations with China on Sunday.
China considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory and is determined to regain it, by force if necessary. It considers that in accordance with the “one China” principle, no country should establish official relations with Beijing and Taipei at the same time.
On Wednesday, Beijing confirmed its “firm opposition” to any meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, and vowed to take “firm countermeasures” if the meeting took place.
The Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing said on Wednesday that Tsai’s American broadcast constituted a “provocation”.
“This supposed transit of the leader of Taiwan is in fact a provocation aimed at gaining independence by relying on the United States,” said office spokeswoman Ju Fenglian.
The US responded by warning that China should not use Tsai’s stop on US soil as “an excuse to promote any hostile activities around the Taiwan Strait”.
“There is no reason for them to react harshly,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
Kirby stressed that Tsai’s arrest on US soil “is compatible with the long-standing informal relationship with Taiwan and with the United States’ one-China policy, which has not changed.”
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives had announced that he would meet Tsai in California, which angered Beijing. On the other hand, the Taiwanese authorities did not confirm the meeting with McCarthy, nor Tsai’s program in New York.
In the year 2022, the visit of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan angered Beijing, which in response organized extensive maneuvers around the island, which Taipei considered a prelude to its invasion.
(AFP)