The Communist Party of China, through its Foreign Ministry and state propaganda outlets, threatened House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and America in general on Thursday with “strong and resolution measures” in response to McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
McCarthy and Tsai met at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Wednesday, a brief stop for Tsai on her way back to Taiwan from visits to allies in Central America. In comments before the press, McCarthy lauded Taiwan as a “successful democracy, a thriving economy, and a global leader in health and science.”
“And whether it’s our deep commercial ties, strong people-to-people relationships, or shared values, our cooperation with the people of Taiwan continue to expand through dialogue and exchange,” Speaker McCarthy promised.
Tsai used the opportunity to warn that “democracy is under threat” around the world, requiring solidarity among the nation’s free states. The Taiwanese president cited President Reagan’s advice: “To preserve peace, we must be strong.”
Taiwan is a sovereign island state off the coast of China whose government is democratically elected. In its 2023 annual report, the NGO Freedom House ranked Taiwan as one of the world’s freest societies. The Communist Party of China falsely claims Taiwan is a “province” of China and identifies Tsai and other elected government officials on the island as “separatist” criminals. Chinese foreign policy requires any nation establishing a diplomatic connection to Beijing to deny the existence of a sovereign Taiwan. Under President Jimmy Carter, the United States chose to do so, allowing China a government presence through its embassies in America and denying one to Taiwan.
Despite the official policy, American politicians regularly engage in “unofficial” exchanges with Taipei, such as McCarthy’s meeting with Tsai, and Washington has for years greenlit sales of military hardware to the island, outraging the Communist Party.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry published an extensive statement on Thursday condemning McCarthy, Tsai, and America generally for allowing Tsai into the country to meet with its government officials. America “provided a platform for Tsai to make separatist remarks seeking ‘Taiwan independence,'” outraging Beijing, an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesperson charged.
“Such acts have gravely violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson charged, “and sent seriously wrong signals to the separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence.’ China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the acts.”
The “one-China principle” is Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a province of China, which the United States does not abide by. Washington follows the “one-China Policy,” which states that there is only one China in the world but does not clarify if the title applies to the Republic of China (Taiwan) or the People’s Republic of China.
The Foreign Ministry accused Washington of having “obstinately sticked [sic] to the strategy of ‘using Taiwan to contain China,’ and breached the commitments it had made.”
“Taiwan independence’ is absolutely irreconcilable with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and it is a path to nowhere,” the spokesperson said, concluding that America should “stop going further down the wrong and dangerous path.”
Asked about the exchange between Tsai and McCarthy at her regular press briefing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning reiterated the outrage of her government and called any recognition of Tsai “an egregiously wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
“China will take strong and resolute measures to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mao threatened.
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), the communist rubber-stamp legislature, also issued a similar statement threatening the United States and Taiwan, a rare move for the body.
“Taiwan has no other status in international law than being part of China,” the NPC said. “The action of McCarthy, the third highest-ranking official of the U.S. government, has seriously broken the commitment made by the United States to China on the Taiwan question and sent seriously wrong signals to separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence.'”
“Any schemes for ‘using Taiwan to contain China’ and for supporting or conniving ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces are doomed to fail,” the NPC warned. “Any acts ‘seeking independence by soliciting foreign support’ and undermining national reunification are bound to be brought to justice.”
The state-run Global Times newspaper published an article on Thursday vaguely threatening America generally for Speaker McCarthy’s appearance with Tsai.
“Do not say you have not been warned. How many times do Americans need to be reminded of this sentence?” the editorial asked, deriding McCarthy as an allegedly disgraced politician seeking attention in the “cheapest and most harmful way.”
“Any Chinese with conscience and self-esteem will be indignant at Tsai’s behavior of kowtowing to the US, selling out the Taiwan island and undermining cross-Straits relations, and will feel ashamed of foreign politicians who condone and support Taiwan secessionists,” the state publication declared.
In a separate editorial, the Global Times warned that both Tsai and McCarthy, and America generally, would “surely taste the bitter fruits” of their meeting.
China Daily, another government-run newspaper, described the Tsai meeting as committing “irreparable damage to the Sino-U.S. relationship.”
“Tsai should recognize that rather than being a [sic] honored guest she is simply viewed by her hosts as a useful piece on the US game board,” the newspaper advised.
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