Hong-Kong (CNN) Taiwan It has every right to ‘connect with the world’, its president Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday as she embarked on a diplomatic mission to Central America that will include a transit to the United States – already condemned by China .
A. Tsai from Taiwan on Wednesday 10 day trip It will include stops in New York and Los Angeles on either side of official visits to Guatemala and Belize.
“External pressure will not prevent us from advancing towards the international community,” Tsai told reporters before leaving. “We are calm, confident, uncompromising and unmotivated. »
The trip gained more attention following reports that Desai will meet with Speaker of the United States House Kevin McCarthy during one of his unofficial stops in the United States.
Taiwan has yet to confirm such a meeting.
McCarthy said he would meet Tsai this month in the United States, although he did not specify a date.
Tsai vowed on Wednesday to “resolutely retaliate” if she meets with McCarthy – a move Beijing would view as a violation of its sovereignty.
The Foreign Office called on Washington to stop taking “dangerous actions that undermine the political foundations of relations between the two countries” and took aim at the United States as Tsai traveled the route.
“It is not the Chinese side that overreacts, but the US side that continues to cooperate in supporting the separatist Taiwan independence forces,” spokesman Mao Ning said, adding that Beijing uses it to discredit Taipei.
China’s ruling Communist Party claims ownership of the self-governing island democracy, though it has never controlled it. Not rejected by force Take Taiwan for a day.
Washington believes there is “absolutely no reason” for Beijing to use China’s transit as an excuse to take “aggressive or coercive action” targeting Taiwan, a senior US administration official told reporters, although some US officials have private concerns. Beijing could react.
Beijing has launched several missiles and started extensive military patrols around the island Visit of US President Nancy Pelosi Last August – the first in 25 years for a legislator.
The visit has put a strain on bilateral relations between the United States and China, even as lawmakers make decisions about their overseas routes and activities independently of the US executive branch.
tight ties
Chai’s visit comes at a critical time in already strained US-China relations.
AND Expected arrival Last month, from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Beijing – part of an effort by both sides to stabilize deteriorating relations – a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down after it was deemed suspicious. shot down over the United States.
A senior administration official told reporters last week that U.S. officials had been in contact with Chinese officials in Washington and Beijing over the past few weeks to provide them with information about past visits to the United States by Taiwanese presidents.
The US official said China’s response was that it did not plan to transit as it has done in the past.
“On all previous trips, President Tsai has met with members of Congress and state and local officials. He has made public appearances and he has attended engagements with the Taiwanese diaspora,” the official said. “As in previous years, President Tsai will be hosted by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) during this visit. »
The AIT is the organization that manages the United States’ unofficial relations with Taiwan. According to US officials, Tsai visited the United States six times during her tenure as president.
Due to the unofficial relationship the United States has with Taiwan, Tsai’s stop in the United States is not considered an official visit in order to keep the United States within the framework of the long-standing policy. “One China”.
Under the “One China” policy, the United States accepts China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but does not officially recognize Beijing’s claim to the island of 23 million people.
On Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Office of Taiwan Affairs, accused Taiwanese officials of using the visits to “obtain support from anti-China forces in the United States”.
A meeting between Tsai and McCarthy would be another provocation that would “undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“We firmly oppose it and will take steps to resolutely fight back,” Zhu said.
Diplomatic tour
After the stopover in New York, Tsai is scheduled to travel to Guatemala on April 1 and Belize on April 3. He will travel to Los Angeles before returning to Taiwan on April 7, the Taiwan presidential office said.
Chaivin’s visit comes as the island democracy seeks to strengthen its diplomatic partnerships. decreased in number During the last years.
They received another blow on Saturday Honduras officially established diplomatic relations With China cutting them with Taiwan. Beijing does not have diplomatic relations with countries that recognize Taipei.
Only 13 countries now have official relations with Taiwan – several in Central America and the Pacific have recognized China in recent years.
However, Taiwan maintains de facto, but unofficial diplomatic relations with many Western countries, including the United States.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, said during her visit to Taipei last year that she intended to say “unequivocally” that the United States “will not abandon” the democratically-ruled island.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the island, including pushing Taipei’s allies to switch allegiance.
These pressures are expected to increase in the coming months as Taiwan’s next presidential election approaches in January.
Tsai’s diplomatic tour coincides with the first visit to the mainland by a current or former Taiwan leader since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Former President Ma Ying-jeou served as Taiwan’s president from 2008 to 2016. Mainland China Tour It seems like a personal journey, but it comes at a time of deep tension over Taiwan’s future.
During his tenure as president, Ma encouraged stronger economic ties with China, but held back Beijing’s efforts for reunification.
In remarks at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in the eastern city of Nanjing on Tuesday, Ma said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were “ethnic Chinese” and shared the same ancestors.
journalist Gladys Tsai in Taipei; CNN’s Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler in Washington; and Martha Chow in Beijing contributed reporting. Earlier reporting by Eric Cheung in Taipei.
