Rita Odafe
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan has declared that external pressure will not impede her country’s efforts to engage with the world. This statement was made in response to China’s warning that they would retaliate if Tsai met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her trip to the US. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly cautioned US officials against meeting Tsai, viewing it as support for Taiwan’s desire to be seen as an independent nation. Taiwan’s government has rejected China’s sovereignty claims and Tsai has offered talks with Beijing, while also stressing that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future. In August of last year, when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, China held war games around Taiwan.
Tsai announced on Wednesday, March 29th that she was departing for the US, with stops in Guatemala and Belize as well. It is expected that she will meet with McCarthy while in California. She expressed her confidence in Taiwan’s ability to walk the road of freedom and democracy, and said that they would neither yield nor provoke. In response, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that Tsai’s “transits” of the United States were not just for her to wait at the airport or hotel, but for her to meet US officials and lawmakers. Zhu warned that if Tsai had contact with McCarthy, it would be considered a provocation and China would take measures to fight back.
The US has stated that China should not use Tsai’s trip as an excuse to take any aggressive action against Taiwan. This comes at a time when US-China relations are at their worst since Washington normalized ties with Beijing in 1979. On Sunday, March 26th, former Taiwan ally Honduras switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing, leaving only 13 countries with formal ties to Taiwan.
