Taiwan President Vows Not to Cave Under ‘External Pressure’ From China Over Trip to US

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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on March 29 that “external pressure” from China will not stop her from engaging with world leaders after Beijing threatened retaliation if she met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calf.).

“External pressure will not hinder our determination to go to the world,” Tsai told reporters as she left for the United States. “We are calm and confident, will neither yield nor provoke. Taiwan will firmly walk on the road of freedom and democracy and go into the world. Although this road is rough, Taiwan is not alone.”

Tsai’s comments came shortly after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threatened to retaliate if she met with McCarthy during her 10-day upcoming trip to Guatemala and Belize—two of only 13 countries maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Still, during her visit to Central America, Tsai is expected to make stopovers in New York City and Los Angeles, presidential office spokesperson Lin Yu-chan confirmed.

Tsai, whose final term ends next year, will return to Taiwan on April 7 and intends to meet McCarthy during the California leg of her visit, the spokesperson said. However, the visit with the Republican lawmaker has not officially been confirmed by either Washington or Taipei.

The trip comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing following the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States.

CCP Aggression

Taipei has said the latest trip to Central America involves transits that are standard practice and has warned Beijing not to use them as a pretext for aggressive action toward the island.

However, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters in Beijing that Tsai’s planned trip to the United States would allow her to meet U.S. officials and lawmakers and could sabotage stability in the Taiwan Strait.

“If she has contact with U.S. House Speaker McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and destroys peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” she said.

Relations between the two nations have further deteriorated over the growing military pressure from communist China on Taiwan, which has been a self-governing democracy since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949.

The Chinese regime views the island as part of its territory that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. The CCP had repeatedly warned U.S. officials not to meet Tsai, viewing it as support for the island’s desire to be seen as a separate country.

Following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit to the self-ruled island in August 2022, the CCP staged war games around Taiwan, launching multiple missiles and extensive military patrols. It also suspended planned climate talks with the United States and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon.

The upcoming visit comes just days after the House of Representatives approved legislation requiring the State Department to regularly review and provide updated reports on its guidelines for U.S. engagement with Taiwan, effectively cutting the red tape restricting exchanges between the two nations.

Chinese soldiers operate with their Type 96A tank during the Tank Biathlon competition at the International Army Games 2022 in Alabino outside Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 16, 2022. Moscow has announced joint military exercises with China, India, Mongolia, Belarus, and Tajikistan. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Republicans Move to Bolster US-Taiwan Relations

The Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, introduced on Feb. 24 by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), was approved in a nearly unanimous vote of 404–7.

Under the bill, the secretary of state would identify opportunities to lift “any remaining self-imposed limitations on U.S.–Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so,” with Wagner noting that for decades, a majority of senior members of the federal government, including high-ranking military officers, were banned from visiting Taiwan because of pressure from Beijing.

The bill also directs the State Department to conduct reviews of its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan and submit a report to Congress at least once every two years detailing how the guidance deepens and expands U.S.-Taiwan relations, and “reflects the value, merits, and importance” of the two nations’ relationship.

“Taiwan faces an unprecedented threat from an increasingly erratic People’s Republic of China. China is forging a dangerous relationship with Russia and, if we are to defeat the PRC’s plan to replace the United States as the world’s preeminent power, we cannot be ruled by fear,” Wagner, who is also vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

“That means boldly standing by our friends and partners, particularly Taiwan. We must increase our economic ties, defense relationship, and political support of Taiwan’s democratic system, and this bill will support these goals,” the lawmaker added.

Tsai’s visit to Central America coincides with a 12-day trip to China by her predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, of the opposition Nationalist Party.

Ma, whose policies brought Taiwan and Beijing close during his rule, has framed the visit as a bid to ease tensions between China and Taiwan, but the move has been condemned by some political opponents and activists.

Reuters contributed to this report.