McCarthy Visit to Taiwan ‘Just a Matter of Timing’: Taiwanese Official

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Taiwan still anticipates Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will visit the self-ruled island in the near future despite President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the House Speaker in California this week drawing sharp criticism from China’s communist regime.

“I extended an invite to McCarthy to come visit before he became House speaker,” You Si-kun, the speaker of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, told reporters in Taipei on April 7, Bloomberg reported.

You made the remarks alongside House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who is leading a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers in the Capitol this week to discuss bolstering the U.S. economic and defense relationship with Taiwan.

“I understand that Speaker McCarthy is a person of promise. It’s just a matter of timing,” he added.

McCarthy introduced Tsai as a “great friend of America“ as he hosted her at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on April 5 in a historical visit attended by dozens of lawmakers from both parties.

During the meeting, McCarthy promised to speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan amid increasing threats from the Chinese regime, which views Taiwan as part of its own territory and opposes any official interactions between Taipei and Washington.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and the U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy hold a news conference following a meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. (David Swanson/Reuters)

Beijing Condemns Taiwan-US Meeting

McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai on U.S. soil drew swift ire from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with China’s foreign ministry branding it an “erroneous act of collusion” and a “disregard of China’s serious representations and repeated warnings.”

The ministry called on the United States to immediately stop supporting Taiwan’s independence, pull any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, and “stop creating factors that could cause tensions in the Taiwan Strait, stop containing China by exploiting the Taiwan question, and not go further down the wrong and dangerous path.”

Following the meeting, Beijing deployed warships into the waters around the self-governed island and flew aircraft into the island’s air defense identification zone, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on Friday.

Taiwanese armed forces said they were monitoring the situation and had deployed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to the activities.

Chinese state media also reported on Friday that Beijing had imposed further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, banning her and her relatives from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

“Wow, the PRC (People’s Republic of China) just sanctioned me again, for the second time,” Hsiao wrote on Twitter in response to the announcement.

‘Stronger When We Are Together’

McCarthy said “there is no place” for Beijing to tell him where he can go or with whom he can meet during Wednesday’s high-profile meeting.

He also pushed for the United States to strengthen its economic cooperation with Taiwan, particularly with regard to trade and technology.

“The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of profound importance to the free world. It is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace, and regional stability,” McCarthy said.

Tsai, meanwhile, thanked Washington for standing by Taipei in the face of increasing threats from Beijing but warned that “democracy is under threat.”

“It is no secret that today the peace we have maintained and the democracy which [we] have worked hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges,” Tsai said.

“We once again find ourselves in a world where democracy is under threat, and the urgency of keeping the beacon of freedom shining cannot be understated.

“We’re stronger when we are together,” Tsai continued. “In our efforts to protect our way of life, Taiwan is grateful to have the United States by our side.”

The meeting was praised by many, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who commended her successor for his leadership.

“Today’s meeting between President Tsai of Taiwan and Speaker McCarthy is to be commended for its leadership, its bipartisan participation, and its distinguished and historic venue,” Pelosi said in a brief statement.

Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year despite warnings from the CCP, prompting Beijing to stage military drills around Taiwan and launch multiple missiles and extensive military patrols.