Taiwanese president and US speaker’s meeting might result in ‘fight back’ from China

Kathmandu: China has been vigilant about the visit of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to America.

China has warned to ‘resolutely fight back’ in case a meeting occurs between President Tsai and the House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Tsa’s departure for the trip on Wednesday attracted the concerns of China.

China suspected that Tsai has planned her trip making transit in New York and California. The rumor of Tsai meeting McCarthy in California seems to have triggered the concerns of China.

China has been warning US officials not to meet Tsai time and again. China claims Taiwan, a democratically ruled country, as part of its territory.

China seems to suspect the US as the provoking factor for Taiwan’s desire of being a separate country.

The last visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei was in August 2022. This added more suspicion to China regarding the US support for Taiwan.

The armed forces of Taiwan have been monitoring the moves of China during the foreign visit of Tsai.

The spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, had spoken to the media correspondents in Beijing regarding the US visit of Tsai. He said that Tsai’s visit to the US was not just about transit in the airport or hotel but for meeting with legislators and officials.

Zhu emphasized that the predicted meeting of Tsai with US Speaker McCarthy would be a violation of the ‘one-China’ principle. This meeting if happened, might be harmful to the integrated territory and sovereignty of China.

Zhu added that the meeting might destroy the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. She even warned that China might fight back resolutely in case of such meetings.

The US has responded and advised China to take the visit of the Taiwanese president as routine rather than taking an aggressive move towards Taiwan.

Taiwanese presidents have been periodically passing through the US during their visits to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Both nations seem to unofficially hold a high-level discussion during such encounters.

The government of China takes Taiwan as part of  ‘one China’ and identifies it as the Chinese Province. But Taiwan has been opposing this claim. President Tsai has been repeating that only the people of Taiwan can decide their future rather than China.

Tsai has the schedule of delivering a speech at the Hudson Institute, in New York, and Ronald Regan Presidential Library, in California.

Previously, Tsai had paid four visits to the US in 2016. She had met with Republic senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio on the last visits. The unofficial visits seem to appear more formal simultaneously.