China threatens consequences if McCarthy meets Taiwan leader

Chinese officials on Wednesday promised “resolute countermeasures” if any U.S. officials meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Also that day, Tsai the same day left on a trip to visit Taiwanese allies in the Americas. She will arrive in New York on Thursday before heading down to Belize and Guatemala. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is scheduled to meet with Tsai in Los Angeles in April before she travels back to Taiwan. China claims the self-governing, democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory.

Will McCarthy still meet with Tsai? He has said that he will. His predecessor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan last year despite threats of retaliation from China. The United States does not officially recognize Taiwan as a country, but the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 obligates the United States to ensure that Taiwan has sufficient means to defend itself against an invasion.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about China’s recent spy balloon incident, and whether it will wake up America.