Taiwan leader, US Speaker McCarthy meet in California despite Chinese warnings

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior U.S. figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil since 1979 despite threats of retaliation from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own.

Tsai thanked the U.S. Congress for standing by Taiwan when democracy was under threat and said she had cited former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in telling McCarthy and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers of her belief that "to preserve peace, we must be strong."