Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker McCarthy begin meeting

The meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker McCarthy began on May 5 in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the western United States, where President Tsai visited as a transit point. This is the first time that the President of Taiwan has met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who holds an important position, in the United States.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited Guatemala and Belize in Central America and arrived in Los Angeles in western California on April 4 before returning to Taiwan.

Then, in the morning of the 5th, in the early morning of the 6th, Japan time, a meeting with Speaker McCarthy began at the Reagan Library, a memorial library for former President Reagan in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

It is not uncommon for the President of Taiwan to stop in the United States as a transit point, but according to the American media, it is the first time that the President of Taiwan has met in the United States with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is the second most important position in the order of succession to presidential authority after the vice president.

In addition, a bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans is scheduled to participate in the meeting, and both sides are expected to confirm the strengthening of cooperation.

China strongly opposed the visit of Democrat Pelosi, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, to Taiwan in August last year, and increased military pressure by holding large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman previously emphasized at a news conference that she "firmly opposes" a meeting between President Tsai and House Speaker McCarthy, and the meeting could further intensify China's backlash.

Speaker McCarthy's speculation is

Speaker McCarthy has publicly stated before last fall's midterm elections that he would "visit Taiwan" if he assumed the presidency.

However, several congressional sources say they will meet in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, rather than visiting Taiwan this time because they have calculated that it would be better for both the U.S. and Taiwan at this point.

A major influence on this decision was the visit to Taiwan by Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat who was the speaker of the House of Representatives at the time, in August last year.

It is said that there was almost no prior coordination with the Biden administration, and while it was able to appeal the strong bond with Taiwan, there is a deep-rooted critical view in Washington that it allowed a "change in the status quo," such as causing a fierce backlash from China and making it normal for Chinese military aircraft to fly across the median line with Taiwan.

For this reason, it seems that the best way to give China as little excuse as possible to try to change the status quo and at the same time to show strong support for Taiwan at home and abroad is to meet with the President of Taiwan on the continental United States, especially in California, Chairman McCarthy's hometown.

The U.S. Congress is strengthening its hardline stance against China based on the recognition that there is a growing risk of a Taiwan contingency in which China will use military force to unify Taiwan.

There is a possibility that the Speaker of the House of Representatives will be criticized as "weak" to meet in the United States instead of visiting Taiwan, but this time there is no such voice from Congress.

Rather, it is intended to be an opportunity for a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by members of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on China, to attend the meeting and to appeal the US Congress' strong support for Taiwan.

U.S. Secretary of State: "China should not stop by and push for a change in the status quo"

Regarding the meeting between Speaker of the House of Representatives McCarthy and President Tsai Ing-wen in the United States, Secretary of State Blinken emphasized that it is nothing new, saying, "Such a visit has been going on for many years and follows precedent."

"China should not use President Tsai's visit as an excuse to escalate tensions and take action to push for a change in the status quo," he said, noting that then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year, and that China had increased military pressure on Taiwan, including large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Blinken emphasized that "there are no changes to our Taiwan policy, including the 'One China' policy."

Secretary Blinken seems to want to avoid further deepening the confrontation with China amid the stalled dialogue between the United States and China, such as the continued postponement of his visit to Beijing due to the issue of a Chinese balloon that flew over the United States.

The U.S.-China Position on Taiwan What was the aim of the meeting?

Over Taiwan, China insists on the "One China" principle: China is the only one in the world, Taiwan is an integral part of China, and the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China.

On the other hand, the United States does not dispute China's position that "China is one and Taiwan is part of China," but does not accept the "'One China' principle" as it is, and adopts the "One China" policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China joint communiqués, and the "Six Guarantees."

Of these, the "Six Guarantees" were presented to Taiwan by then-President Reagan in 1 and consist of six items, including not agreeing to set an end date for arms sales to Taiwan and not agreeing to seek opinions from China on arms sales to Taiwan.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited the Reagan Library via the United States during her visit to Latin America in August 1 and praised President Reagan, saying, "The 'Six Guarantees' still form an important foundation of U.S. policy toward Taiwan."

The choice of the Reagan Library as the venue for the meeting between President Tsai and Speaker McCarthy seems to be intended to reaffirm the strong involvement of the United States, including arms sales to Taiwan.

What is the Reagan Library?

The Reagan Library, President Reagan's Memorial Library, is located in Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, western California.

According to the Memorial Library's website, it contains more than 6000 million pages of documents and more than 160.<> million photographs, including records of the summit meeting with former Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev.

In addition, the huge exhibition space displays items related to Mr. Reagan's presidential plane "Air Force One".

In the United States, the President's Memorial Library is established in accordance with the law to prevent the loss of records and materials during the term of office after the president leaves office.

Memorial libraries are usually located in the president's home state to store and exhibit not only documents but also related items, and open them to the public for study and learning.