Taiwan's presidential spokeswoman Lin Yu-Chan said that Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen will cross the United States on her way back from a visit to Guatemala and Belize in Central America at the end of the month. 

Edited by| Jousef Gouda

Politic section -  CJ journalist

Taipei- March 22, 2023   

   Asked whether Tsai will meet with US Congress president Kevin McCarthy during her stop in the United States, as has been widely reported in recent weeks, the presidential office refused to provide any details about Eng Wen's us itinerary

McCarthy told reporters earlier this month that he’ll meet with Tsai when she is in the US but didn’t specify a date. He also did not rule out the possibility of taking a trip to Taiwan himself in addition to their meeting.

Any face-to-face meeting between McCarthy and Tsai is likely to infuriate China’s ruling Communist Party, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory despite never having controlled it.

China hit out at initial reports of Tsai’s planned US transit emerged earlier this month with its Foreign Ministry declaring it was “seriously concerned” about the prospect of a meeting with McCarthy and repeating its position that Beijing “resolutely opposes all official exchanges between US and Taiwan.”

 Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin repeated that criticism, saying Beijing was opposed to the visit “in any name for any reason” and accusing Tsai of “promoting Taiwan independence” with the trip.

Because of the unofficial relationship the US has with Taiwan, Tsai’s stop in the US is not characterized as an official visit in order to keep the US within the longstanding “One China” policy.

Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China,  but has never officially recognized Beijing’s claim to the self-governing island of some 23 million.

Taiwan’s refusal to confirm details of a potential McCarthy meeting in advance is not surprising given the geopolitical sensitivities.

Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last year was only officially made public once her plane landed, although it was reported by Western media ahead of time.

Guatemala and Belize are two of Taiwan’s few remaining official diplomatic allies.

Last Tuesday, Honduras President Xiomara Castro said she planned to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

That move would leave Taiwan with just 13 official diplomatic allies, mostly small nations in Latin America and the Pacific.

However, Taiwan has de facto, but non-official, diplomatic relations with many Western nations including the United States.

US officials have engaged in multiple communications with Chinese officials in recent weeks to remind them of past precedents regarding US transits of Taiwanese presidents, a senior administration official told reporters.

The official noted that any transit to the US of Tsai should not be used by China as a pretext for an aggressive response.

Tsai’s planned trip comes as Taiwan and the United States ramp up efforts to counter China’s growing military capabilities.

Taiwan is scheduled to hold its next presidential election in January next year.