US House Speaker McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the US
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[March 07, 2023]
By Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources
told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican
Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed
island claimed by China.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tsai had been
invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during a
transit through California on a planned visit to Central America, and
that McCarthy was likely to meet her in the United States.
One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward - likely in
April - it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the
future.
McCarthy's office did not respond immediately to Reuters' questions on
the matter, including whether the planned meeting was an effort to avoid
raising tensions with China, which was angered by then-House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August.
The Financial Times first reported the plans to meet in California.
During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer
whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans
when he had them.
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Four other sources - including U.S. officials and people with knowledge
of the U.S. and Taiwan administrations' thinking - said both sides were
deeply uneasy that a future visit by McCarthy would severely increase
tensions across the Taiwan Strait at a time when the island is preparing
for its own presidential election early next year.
The Reagan Library and China's Embassy in Washington did not respond
immediately to requests for comment.
Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington said it had "no information to
share" when asked about the meeting.
"In general terms, arrangements for President Tsai's visits to Taiwan's
diplomatic allies and transits through the United States are carried out
in line with the usual practice," it told Reuters.
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![](../images/030723PIX/news_a8.jpg)
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy
(R-CA) wields the speaker's gavel as members of Congress gather on
the House floor to attend U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the
Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House
Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023.
REUTERS/Leah Millis
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/07/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_030323.jpg)
China views engagements between U.S. and Taiwanese officials as a
breach of its sovereignty, a perceived slight sharpened by the fact
that the Speaker of the House is second in line to the U.S.
presidency.
But Taiwanese presidents, including Tsai, have a record of traveling
through the U.S. en route to other countries, though the U.S.
government has generally avoided meeting with senior Taiwanese
officials in Washington.
Pelosi, a Democrat, visited Taiwan and met Tsai last year, defying
warnings from China, which launched military drills around the
island in response, raising fears that Beijing may carry out its
threat to take Taiwan by force if necessary.
Since then, Taiwan has welcomed a wave of U.S. lawmakers, and
speculation has swirled around whether McCarthy would travel there
this year. McCarthy last year expressed interest in visiting Taiwan
if he became speaker, a role he assumed in January after Republicans
took control of the House in November's midterm elections.
Like most countries, the U.S. does not have formal diplomatic ties
with Taiwan, but is bound by U.S. law to provide the island with the
means to defend itself.
Washington has long stuck to a policy of "strategic ambiguity,"
meaning it does not make clear whether it would respond militarily
to an attack on Taiwan. However, President Joe Biden said in
September that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a
Chinese invasion, his most explicit statement on the issue.
(Reporting by Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Josie Kao)
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