TAIPEI, Taiwan — A bipartisan congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan on Thursday, drawing further criticism from China a day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with the island’s president.
“Being here I think sends a signal to the Chinese Communist Party that the United States supports Taiwan and that we’re going to harden Taiwan, and we want them to think twice about invading Taiwan,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
It was the delegation’s third overseas stop after visiting U.S. allies Japan and South Korea.
The lawmakers’ arrival in Taiwan comes as China, which claims the island as its territory, is still fuming over a meeting in California on Wednesday between McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai, who is transiting through the United States on her way back from a trip to Guatemala and Belize, is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Friday.
The flurry of visits comes amid dramatically worsening China-U.S. relations, as Beijing increases pressure on the self-ruling democracy, declines to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and grows more assertive internationally. The sighting and downing of a spy balloon over the U.S. in February angered many Americans and soured ties even further.
China had criticized the McCarthy-Tsai meeting as a “provocation” and a violation of the one-China principle, under which Washington recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China while maintaining unofficial relations with Taipei.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Tsai and McCarthy, the third most senior U.S. government official, of promoting Taiwan independence through their meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
“China will take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing on Thursday.
The White House says that visits by high-level Taiwanese officials are…
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