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President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen made a stop-over in New York, U.S. while on a trip to Central and South America.
While there, she met with prominent U.S. leaders and received an award from a U.S. think tank, while drawing the ire of Beijing.
Meeting with U.S. House Democratic leader
Tsai met with Hakeem Jeffries, a native New Yorker and the leader of the Democratic party in the House of Representatives, NBC News reported.
As there are currently more Republicans than Democrats in the House, Jeffries is the Minority Leader. His counterpart is Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House.
China condemns trip
Tsai’s trip to the U.S. got a reaction from China, who threatened to retaliate if she goes ahead with the plan to meet McCarthy in California, after her Central and South America visit.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning criticised Tsai's visit to New York in front of Chinese media on Mar. 30, stating that the "stopover" was only a "red herring" and that it was "a conspiracy between U.S. and Taiwan" to arrange Tsai to attend "political events".
Mao claimed that the actions of the U.S. and Taiwan have "exacerbated" tensions in the region by "sending the wrong signal to Taiwanese separatists".
Image via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Gave a speech at New York think tank
Tsai also visited prominent U.S. think tank Hudson Institute, who gave her the Global Leadership Award on Mar. 31.
In a press release, Hudson Institute stated that the award is presented to “exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in service of the principles at the core of Hudson’s mission.”
Hudson Institute calls itself a “research organisation promoting American leadership for a secure, free, and prosperous future” on its website.
Tsai posted on her Facebook on Mar. 31 afternoon, stating that the award was not meant only for her but also dedicated to the Taiwanese people for “acknowledging her efforts”.
She summarised the speech she gave at Hudson Institute, emphasising that Taiwan can now “stand beside” countries with similar “democratic ideals” due to “support from Taiwanese people” and aid from “American friends”.
Tsai blames China for tensions
Tsai blamed China for the elevated regional tensions and claimed that Taiwan had always been “calm and collected” in its responses.
“The Taiwanese people hope for peace, but history tells us that the best way to avoid war is to increase our capabilities,” she said.
She warned that a troubled Taiwan Straits would bring uncertainty to the global economy and called for more “democratic nations” to support Taiwan.
Taiwan say China flew nine planes into their airspace
After her speech in New York, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense issued a press release titled “Not to elevate tensions, not to spark conflict, increased supervision of Communist China’s fighter planes”.
The press release stated that the Ministry had detected nine planes from five sorties that had crossed the median line into the Taiwan Strait and into airspace claimed by Taiwan.
The Ministry reiterated that Taiwan maintains its policy to not elevate tension nor spark conflict and condemns China’s “unreasonable actions”.
Trip deliberately "low-key"
Wall Street Journal reported that although Tsai had spent two days in New York, her visit was deliberately low-key to avoid antagonising China.
The Biden administration has also been trying to downplay Tsai’s trip, saying she is just passing through on her way to Central America.
Bloomberg quoted its sources that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with China's top diplomat Wang Yi before Tsai's trip, explaining that it is only routine.
Ma in China
While Tsai visits the U.S., a former Taiwan president, Ma Ying-jeou, is in China on a visit of his own.
Ma, who is from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan, served as president from 2008 to 2016.
The KMT favour closer ties with China, but both it and Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) reject China's rule over Taiwan.
Ma’s visit was framed as a bid to ease tensions between Taiwan and China and a “peaceful exchange". Perhaps similarly to Tsai's trip, Ma also did not meet the top members of China's leadership on his trip, such as Xi Jinping in Beijing.
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Top image via Hudson Institute