Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) praised current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for his recent meetup with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Such praise, especially between two politicians who are as opposed as Pelosi and McCarthy are, is not something that one sees every day in today's political arena.
But, it happened on Wednesday.
"Today’s meeting between President Tsai of Taiwan and Speaker McCarthy is to be commended for its leadership, its bipartisan participation, and its distinguished and historic venue," Pelosi said in a brief statement.
McCarthy met with Tsai on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Several other U.S. lawmakers, from both sides of the aisle, joined McCarthy.
McCarthy, by meeting with Tsai, became the senior-most elected official in the United States to meet with a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil.
The real significance of the meetup, however, is the solidarity that it demonstrated to China exists between the United States and Taiwan. The background here is that China continues to try to claim that Taiwan is part of its country, while Taiwan insists that it is an independent, autonomous nation of its own.
Pelosi engaged in a similar showing of solidarity back when she was still the Speaker. She actually made a trip to Taiwan to do so.
China was not happy with Pelosi's visit. In fact, the communist country increased military drills in a failed attempt at intimidation. Now, in that same vein, China is making it clear that it is not happy with McCarthy's meetup with Tsai.
Following the meetup between McCarthy and Tsai, China vowed to take "strong and resolute measures" in response.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said:
We will take resolute measures to punish the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and their actions, and resolutely safeguard our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
What this exactly means is unclear. Such verbal threats are not unusual from China.
McCarthy, however, is undeterred. During his meetup with Tsai, he insisted that "America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering, and bipartisan."
And, following the meetup, McCarthy, in a message that he directed at China, said:
China can never tell us what to do. As speaker of the House, I'm going to meet with whoever we want to meet with, with whatever country. Look, I am not the general manager of the Houston Rockets. China is not going to intimidate us and there is no better place to be than here at Reagan's library [and] what it symbolizes.
