Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen landed in New York on Wednesday for a stop on US soil that Biden administration officials tried to play down but China said would add new damage to ties between Washington and Beijing.
(Bloomberg) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen landed in New York on Wednesday for a stop on US soil that Biden administration officials tried to play down but China said would add new damage to ties between Washington and Beijing.
After a 14-hour flight, Tsai was greeted by Taiwan’s representative to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, and Laura Rosenberger, the head of the de facto US embassy to the island. She is spending two nights in New York before heading to Guatemala and Belize, two of the few remaining nations that still recognize Taiwan as an independent nation.
US officials say Tsai’s stop in the US is routine — it’s one of several she’s made as president — though it comes with US-China tension at a new high. Inflaming matters more, she’s set to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles on the return leg next week.
“What we hope to see here is a normal, uneventful transit by President Tsai Ing-wen, because that’s what’s happened before and there’s no reason for it to be any different this time,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said before Tsai landed. “There should not be a reaction to this since it’s normal activity.”
Chinese officials disagreed, saying the plan to meet McCarthy was particularly provocative because it will be the first time a House speaker has met with a Taiwanese official in the US.
“The US keep saying that it is not a visit and that there are precedents but they should not use past mistakes as excuses for repeating them today,” China’s charge d’affaires, Xu Xueyan, told a briefing Wednesday. “It will send the wrong signal to the world and will once again have a severe impact on the bilateral relationship.”
Before departing Taipei, Tsai said in a speech the trip shows Taiwan’s determination to deepen exchanges with allies and safeguard freedom and democracy. She said she would not bow to Chinese pressure.
Tsai was set to attend a dinner banquet Wednesday night with Taiwanese people in the US, with American politicians expected to attend, her office said without providing details.
–With assistance from Iain Marlow.
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