Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen ‘unofficially’ visited US – Reuters

The White House was quick to assure that the Taiwanese leader’s transit stop in New York was private. “The United States and China have differences when it comes to Taiwan, but we’ve been dealing with those differences for more than 40 years,” National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said amicably. According to him, the American side had many consultations with Beijing at different levels before Tsai Ing-wen could travel via New York to Belize and Guatemala, which have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The representative of the US authorities stressed that Washington continues to follow the principle of “one China” and that no change has occurred in this regard.According to Politico, the White House is deliberately downplaying Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the United States to avoid complicating an already overheated relationship with China. However, not everyone in the US Congress agrees with this approach, where a number of lawmakers openly advocate Taiwan independence at all costs. In turn, Beijing closely watched Tsai Ing-wen’s arrest in the United States. This, in particular, was said by the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning. The diplomat promised that the Chinese side would take all measures to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state. The PRC assumes that Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in New York sends the wrong signal to separatists for “Taiwan independence”. Beijing opposes any contact between Washington and Taipei. “Despite strong representations and repeated warnings from China, the United States insisted on arranging the so-called ‘transit’ for Tsai Ing-wen. China strongly protests and condemns this,” Mao Ning concluded.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council, said Beijing does not view Tsai Ing-wen’s transit through the United States as just waiting at the airport or the hotel. “This is only an attempt, under various pretexts, to establish contact with US government circles, members of Congress, maintain official US-Taiwan contacts, and contact anti-China forces. overseas,” he explained.The story of Tsai Ing-wen’s transit through the United States is not over. On her return from Central America, she will stop over in Los Angeles. Taiwan’s head of administration is expected to meet US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who criticizes the Biden administration for insufficient support for Taiwan, and also advocates strengthening defense and economic ties with the island. Obviously, in such a scenario, China’s reaction will be even harsher, which could cause a new round of tension in the Taiwan Strait.Last week, former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou visited mainland China. He became the first of the island’s past and current rulers to decide to visit China. The politician is currently a senior member of the Kuomintang, the island’s main opposition party. It’s possible that her trip to the Celestial Empire was an attempt to balance the situation with Tsai Ing-wen’s transit stops in American cities.