Washington considers it to be a “private and unofficial” visit, which does not call into question the principle of “One China” claimed by Beijing.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published update
China promised this Wednesday to “retaliateif the Taiwanese president met with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy during a trip to the United States and Central America aimed at strengthening the island’s diplomatic ties with its allies. Beijing warned on Wednesday that it was “resolutely opposedat such a meeting, promising to take “strong measures to fight backif it took place. “If Ms. Tsai engages in dialogue with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mr. McCarthy, it will be seen as another provocation that will seriously violate the one-China principle, undermine sovereignty and integrity. territorial integrity of China, and will undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Straitsaid Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing.
The United States had warned Beijing earlier in the morning against any “overreaction» on the arrival in the United States of Tsai Ing-wen, which must stop in New York on a trip to Central America, and in Los Angeles on the way back. “There is absolutely no reason for China to use this as an excuse to overreact or exert even more pressure on Taiwan.a senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity. The Taiwanese president is going to Guatemala and Belize from Wednesday, stopping on American soil.
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Honduras established diplomatic relations with China on Sunday. Belize and Guatemala are thus among the last 13 countries to officially recognize Taiwan to the detriment of Beijing.
“We will not give in”
«Outside pressure will not hinder our determinationto be active on the international stage, Ms. Tsai told reporters before leaving Taiwan. “We are calm and confident. We will not give in and we will not provoke (others).» «If Ms. Tsai engages in dialogue with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mr. McCarthy, it will be seen as another provocation that will seriously violate the one-China principle, undermine sovereignty and integrity. territorial integrity of China, and will undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Straitsaid Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing.
Honduras established diplomatic relations with China on Sunday. Belize and Guatemala are thus among the last 13 countries to officially recognize Taiwan to the detriment of Beijing.
Reprisals and military maneuvers
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces that it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory. In the name of its principle ofOne Chinano country is supposed to maintain official ties with Beijing and Taipei at the same time. And Beijing has already expressed its opposition to official exchanges between Taiwan and the United States.
In August 2022, the visit to the self-administered island of Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the American House of Representatives, enraged Beijing, which had launched in retaliation large-scale military maneuvers around Taiwan.
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“Private and unofficial visit”
Washington considers that these American stops by the Taiwanese president in no way violate the United States’ one-China policy and that it is only a question of “transits“, even if this person in charge meets people on the spot. “This is a private and unofficial tour“, which respects a “long-standing practice“, insisted the American official.
The latter refused to confirm a possible meeting in California between Tsai Ing-wen and the Republican leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy, from this western American state. Washington, which nevertheless granted its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, is Taiwan’s most powerful ally as well as its main arms supplier.
