World News | House Leader, Taiwan President Hold Historic Meeting in US
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen for a historic meeting on US soil on Wednesday, underscoring US lawmakers' growing support for her self-ruled island as tensions rise with rival China.
Simi Valley, Apr 5 (AP) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen for a historic meeting on US soil on Wednesday, underscoring US lawmakers' growing support for her self-ruled island as tensions rise with rival China.
McCarthy greeted Tsai on her arrival at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California.
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Tsai, making the most sensitive stop on a weeklong journey meant to shore up alliances in the US and Central America, was to meet with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
China views any interaction between US and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its claim to the island as its territory, and has reacted to past meetings with shows of force and by pulling back on dialogue with the United States.
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China responded to a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last August with its largest live-fire drills in decades, included firing a missile over the island.
Angry Chinese officials have pledged a sharp but unspecified response to the meeting with McCarthy.
The United States broke off official ties with Taiwan in 1979 while formally establishing diplomatic relations with the Beijing government.
While the US acknowledges the “one-China” policy in which Beijing lays claim to Taiwan, it does not endorse China's claim to the island and remains Taiwan's key provider of military and defense assistance.
Wednesday's session is the first known meeting between a House speaker and a Taiwanese president on American territory since the US broke off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. (AP)
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Mascaro and Knickmeyer reported from Washington.
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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)