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Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, is in the United States as part of a multi-day itinerary that will take the leader of the Asian democratic island through Central and North America, a trip that China is closely watching.
„External pressure will not hinder our determination to go to the world. We are calm and confident, will neither yield nor provoke,“ Tsai told reporters on Tuesday right before departing from Taipei.
Her carefully choreographed trip comes at a tense moment for Taiwan. Last week, Honduras, once one of the few remaining countries which formally recognized Taiwan’s government, formally switched ties to Beijing. Tsai next heads to Belize and Guatemala, both of which still have formal ties with Taipei.
On the way back to Taiwan next week, Tsai is set to stop in Los Angeles and meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and opposes interactions between Taiwan and other state officials, has already signaled its unhappiness.
If Tsai meets McCarthy, China would consider that „another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,“ a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, told reporters this week.
