Speaker McCarthy Meets With Taiwan President in California
Summary from the AllSides News Team
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday in California.
Key Quotes: Addressing reporters, McCarthy said, “The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of profound importance to the free world. And it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability. We will honor our obligations and reiterate our commitment to our shared values behind which all Americans are united.” Tsai Ing-wen stated, “we are stronger when we are together.”
For Context: With this visit, McCarthy becomes the most senior American politician to meet with a Taiwanese leader in America since 1979, when the U.S. established diplomatic relations with China and broke official diplomatic ties with the island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory despite it being self-governed since 1949. Last August, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visited Taiwan, leading to a rebuke from Beijing. The Taiwanese president’s visit comes two months after a Chinese spy balloon floated over the continental United States, further deteriorating relations between the two countries.
How The Media Covered It: The visit was covered mildly across the spectrum. The Associated Press characterized McCarthy as a former “sandwich shop operator” that is “not known for vast foreign policy experience,” comparing him to former Speaker Pelosi, whom the article stated “used her speaker’s gavel as a calling card to bring U.S. influence and aid around the globe.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
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."
From the Right
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets with Taiwanese president in California despite China threats
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in southern California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior US elected official to meet a Taiwanese leader on American soil since 1979.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Tsai briefly shook hands after her SUV pulled up to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles. Giant wooden doors closed behind them as they walked inside for what were to be several hours of meetings with Democratic and Republican members of Congress.
In the parking lot, small groups of...
From the Left
For McCarthy and Taiwan’s leader, visit marks historic first
The moment is historic — a U.S. House speaker meeting Wednesday with the president of Taiwan for a rare visit on American soil, a high-profile encounter designed to boost support for the island government but already drawing blowback from an enraged China.
For Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen the meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California is the most sensitive stop on her transit through the U.S. and Central America, a whirlwind diplomatic mission that is delicate, secretive and politically fraught.
But for the...
AllSides Picks
May 22nd, 2024
May 18th, 2024
More News about World from the Left, Center and Right
From the Left
From the Center
From the Right
