Taiwan Rejects China Pressure Ahead of House Speaker Meeting

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech as she attends a banquet hosted by Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno, in Belize, in this handout picture released on April 4, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech as she attends a banquet hosted by Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno, in Belize, in this handout picture released on April 4, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)
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Taiwan Rejects China Pressure Ahead of House Speaker Meeting

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech as she attends a banquet hosted by Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno, in Belize, in this handout picture released on April 4, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech as she attends a banquet hosted by Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno, in Belize, in this handout picture released on April 4, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)

Taiwan pushed back against threats of retaliation by China, ahead of an expected meeting between President Tsai-Ing-wen and the US House speaker Wednesday that will underscore her government's claim to sovereignty.

Tsai has been visiting the island's remaining diplomatic allies in Latin America, Belize and Guatemala. The most politically sensitive part of her trip will be a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles while she transits on her way back home.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and treats any dealings between US and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its sovereignty. Tsai's tour is a bid to demonstrate that her government has international support.

Belize and Guatemala are two of just 13 countries that formally recognize Taiwan, a number that has dipped as China has put pressure on and funneled money into isolating the island. Tsai's Latin American trip comes just a week after Honduras announced it was cutting ties with Taiwan in favor of China, potentially prompted by a $300 million hydroelectric dam project in central Honduras built by a Chinese company.

Last week, and again on Monday, China threatened with countermeasures if Tsai met with McCarthy. The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles issued a statement Monday saying it opposed any “any form of contact” between Taiwan authorities and the US.

“The reality and current situation that both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait belong to one China is very clear,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a daily news briefing Tuesday that China “will closely follow the developments and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it has never been part of China, and that China's recent criticism has become increasingly “absurd.”

“Taiwan, the Republic of China, is a sovereign country, and has the right to make its own determination in developing relations with other countries in the world,” it said in a statement. “It does not accept interference or suppression by any country for any reason, and will not limit itself because of intimidation or interference.”

The United States’ longstanding “one-China” policy acknowledges that the Chinese claim Taiwan as their territory. However, the US does not endorse that claim and remains Taiwan’s most important provider of military hardware and other defense assistance.

China has repeatedly asserted its claim to Taiwan, though Taiwan maintains its own democratic system of government since the sides split after a civil war in 1949.

Keeping up the military pressure, China's People’s Liberation Army sent 20 warplanes toward Taiwan Monday to Tuesday as well as three warships in the latest round of exercises, which have increased significantly in recent years.

China regularly sends warplanes around the island and has at times seemingly used the exercises as a demonstration of its ire.

Last December, China sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force after it expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions in a US annual defense spending bill.

And last year, China responded to a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan with the largest live-fire drills in decades that included firing a missile over the island, which had landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The PLA’s increased military activity near Taiwan has raised concerns among regional governments, and also drawn greater international attention and rhetorical support for Taiwan’s defense. US legislators have also started visiting Taiwan at a greater frequency, as anti-China sentiment and concerns over China's strategic position grows in Congress.



Vance Criticizes Germany’s Free Speech Laws in Remarks to Conservatives

 Vice President JD Vance, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2025, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2025, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)
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Vance Criticizes Germany’s Free Speech Laws in Remarks to Conservatives

 Vice President JD Vance, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2025, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2025, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)

US Vice President JD Vance has criticized Germany's free speech laws during an appearance at a conservative gathering outside Washington, linking the country's limits against hate speech to American troops stationed there.

German law sets restrictions on free speech, including the long-standing ban on Holocaust denial and any glorification of the country's Nazi past.

The limits are an effort to curb extremism and incitement, and have led to authorities policing the internet for hate speech and arresting the people allegedly posting, and reposting, such comments.

“There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that, if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course they’re not,” Vance told activists gathered Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

There are nearly 84,000 US service members in the European Theater, according to the US Department of Defense. The figure fluctuates, however, and has increased since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022.

The US military is stationed throughout Germany, according to US European Command, including at Ramstein Air Base. A count of US service members in Germany wasn't immediately available on Friday.

Vance's remarks followed his speech earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference, where he lectured European leaders about the state of democracy and free speech across the continent. His comments were met with rebukes from multiple European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“Obviously we’re going to continue to have important alliances with Europe,” Vance told CPAC moderator Mercedes Schlapp. “But I really do think the strength of those alliances is doing to depend on whether we take our societies in the right direction.”

Vance then claimed that “Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayers.”