Taiwan’s president meets with the Speaker of the U.S. House.
Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is just ahead, but first, making headlines:
Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a New York state criminal court to a 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records in furtherance of an unspecified crime — described by prosecutors as a bid to hide a hush money payment to a porn actress to help him win the presidency in 2016.
The Philippines identified on Monday four more of its military bases to which the U.S. will have access. Two of the bases face north towards Taiwan, while another is near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands equipped with runways and missile systems.
A Chinese balloon that flew across the United States was able to gather intelligence from several U.S. military sites and transmit it back to Beijing in real-time, despite the Biden administration's efforts to prevent it from doing so, NBC News reported on Monday. The balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the United States and Canada early in February before the U.S. military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was in Central America for talks in Guatemala and Belize, trying to shore up alliances after Honduras decided to end relations with Taipei and establish them with China. Guatemala and Belize are the last two countries in Central America maintaining relations with Taiwan.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted a meeting Wednesday with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in California. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy led more than a dozen members of Congress to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, which honors the 40th president, for a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. At the gathering, McCarthy promised to work with Taiwan for economic freedom, democracy, stability and peace in Asia.
“Today was a bipartisan meeting, Republicans and Democrats united together in a place that symbolizes the freedom and the commitment and the bond that’s only become stronger with the president (Tsai) with us today.”
Supporters of Taiwan had crowded the lobby of Tsai’s hotel, and supporters of mainland China gathered outside.
The visit was unofficial, described as a transit stop after the Taiwan leader’s visit to Central America.
China analyst Patricia Kim of the Brookings Institution says the trip is a response to increased Chinese aggression on many fronts.
“Not just the military domain but also the economic, the diplomatic domains. There has been greater pressure and desire on the part of U.S. leaders to do more to counter China’s aggression in the Taiwan Strait and to increase support for Taiwan.”
Tsai was heartened by the meeting.
“The impressive and unwavering support reassures the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated.”
Chinese officials call Tsai’s visit a provocative act.
China criticized last year’s visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic speaker of the House.
In apparent response, China conducted military drills off Taiwan’s coast.
“It seems that expectations are that Beijing’s response this time around may not be as extreme as last summer, when it engaged in unprecedented live-fire drills around the island after Speaker Pelosi’s visit. So it remains to be seen how extreme its reaction will be this time, and I think it could depend in part on how the California meeting is portrayed in the media.”
Kim says Beijing may also moderate its response because European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou are all now visiting China, which seeks to present itself as a moderating force, while McCarthy and other U.S. lawmakers are reassuring Taiwan that it has friends in Washington.
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.
Visit voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories. Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly. I’m Chris Casquejo. Until next week.
We leave you now with an ox-cart race from Cambodia, part of the upcoming Khmer New Year celebrations in mid-April.
