Taiwan says President Tsai Ing-wen to make US stopover amid China's warnings

Officials in Taiwan on Thursday declared that the self-administered island’s President Tsai Ing-wen will make a stop in the US and hold a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California despite the Chinese threats hurled against the planned visit. Taiwan "will not allow repeated provocations” from China, the island’s Defence Minister said on Thursday referring to the sensitive upcoming trip of the island's President this week.

In a statement released by its Presidential office, US claimed that the preparations were ongoing for the “transit” plans of President Tsai Ing-wen's overseas visit. McCarthy expressed his intent on meeting with the breakaway island's leader as she makes a stopover in the US.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, McCarthy clarified that the decision to meet with Tsai Ing-wen "was not an attempt to appease Beijing". Last year, the Californian Republican had expressed his intention of meeting with the Taiwanese officials if he was elected the Speaker, citing the security concerns surrounding the island due to increasingly belligerent China that considers the island as a part of its territory. Speculations are rife that McCarthy may also plan a visit to the island in the near future. 

“China can’t tell me where and when I can go,” McCarthy was reported as saying.

McCarthy’s team given 'some intelligence' about Tsai’s visit

Tsai’s administration has already provided McCarthy’s team with “some intelligence about what the Chinese Communist party is recently up to and the kinds of threats they pose", a Taiwanese official told FT. But about the visit, said the Taiwanese source, China was “not in a good situation”.

Last August, McCarthy’s Democratic predecessor Nancy Pelosi made a controversial visit to Taiwan that Beijing saw as a "provocative move." Her trip was met by angry China conducting military drills in proximity to the island, including the People’s Liberation Army firing ballistic missiles to intimidate the US House Speaker. 

“There might be policies even more irrational than in the past emanating from Beijing,” the Taiwanese official told the paper, raising concerns. “If we can try to control this together, the risks it brings for everybody can be contained better," the official added. 

Firmly opposing any official political exchange between Taiwan and the US, the Chinese foreign ministry in a statement registered grievances to the visit saying that it was "seriously concerned about the news".

"We have lodged solemn representations with the US side and asked them to clarify," ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference. warning the United States against maintaining diplomatic ties with Taipei, Mao continued, "no one should underestimate the strong determination of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity." 

"The real threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the separatist forces of Taiwan independence," she asserted, making stance of China clear.