California [US], March 7: Reuters quoted two sources as saying that US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in the US in the coming weeks.
Unnamed sources told Reuters on March 6 that Tsai had been invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during her transit in California en route to Central America, and McCarthy was likely to meet her on the ground. America.
One of the two sources said if the meeting takes place - possibly in April - this does not completely rule out the possibility that Mr. McCarthy will visit Taiwan in the future.
The Financial Times was the first to report on their plans to meet in California. The paper said Tsai persuaded McCarthy to hold the meeting in California instead of Taipei to avoid a military response from China.
In an interview with CNBC earlier on March 6, McCarthy declined to say whether he would visit Taiwan , and said he would let you know if there were plans.
Four other Reuters sources - including US officials and people familiar with the thinking of the US and Taiwan administrations - said both sides were extremely worried that Mr. There is a serious increase in tensions in the Taiwan Strait at a time when the island is preparing for leadership elections early next year.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative's office in Washington DC said it had no information about the planned meeting in California. Accordingly, the arrangement of Ms. Tsai's trips as well as the transit plan in the US is "made according to custom".
China considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and asserts that commitments between US and Taiwanese officials are a violation of its sovereignty. This becomes even more prominent when the Speaker of the House is the second in the line of succession to the US president.
Top Taiwanese leaders, including Ms. Tsai Ing-wen, have frequently stopped by the US on tours to other countries, although the US government often avoids meeting high-ranking Taiwanese officials there. Washington DC capital.
In August 2022, Nancy Pelosi , then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, went to Taiwan and met Ms. Tsai, despite warnings from China. This is the first visit to Taiwan by a person holding this position in 25 years.
China strongly condemned the visit and responded by conducting numerous exercises in the region.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
