US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed plans to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the US this year, but added that the meeting does not preclude a trip to Taiwan later.
“That has nothing to do with my travel, if I would go to Taiwan,” McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday night when asked about the meeting.
The Financial Times on Monday first reported McCarthy’s plans to meet in California with Tsai rather than Taipei.
Photo: AP
“China can’t tell me where and when I can go,” McCarthy said.
Last month, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul said McCarthy would plan a trip to the nation either later this year or next year.
However, such a visit was seen as setting up a potential confrontation similar to the one in August last year, when then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan.
McCarthy has said he would like to travel here as speaker and bring a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
However, the Chinese government has urged McCarthy not to visit Taiwan and “to earnestly abide by the ‘one China’ principle,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said on Jan. 30.
The White House on Tuesday rebutted Chinese criticism of its approach to Taiwan, saying its “one China” policy had not changed and that it was opposed to any unilateral actions to change the cross-Taiwan Strait “status quo.”
“We seek strategic competition with China. We do not seek conflict,” White House spokesman John Kirby said during a news briefing.
“There’s been no change to our ‘one China’ policy. We do not support independence for Taiwan,” Kirby said, adding that the US does not want to see the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait changed “unilaterally or by force.”
Kirby was responding to comments that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) made earlier in the day during his first news conference in his new role.
Qin, who previously served as ambassador to Washington, said that the US’ China policy had “entirely deviated” from the right track and that the two countries were headed for “conflict and confrontation” if the US did not change its course.
Qin said the US was seeking to “contain” China by “exploiting” the issue of Taiwan, and warned that Washington’s mishandling of Taiwan policy could “shake the very foundations of China-US relations.”
In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) criticized Qin’s invocation of the Chinese constitution during the news conference to assert Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
Responding to a question on the subject during the news conference, Qin held up a copy of the Chinese constitution and quoted from its preamble: “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China. It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland.”
The MAC said such claims “deviate from the truth and principles for upholding international peace,” and are not accepted by Taiwanese.
“The Republic of China is a sovereign country. Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China,” and its status is therefore not an “internal matter” for Beijing, the MAC said.
The foundations for maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and regional peace lie in the acknowledgment that “neither side of the Taiwan Strait belongs to the other,” it said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
RSS