Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at Taoyuan International Airport upon returning from a trip to the U.S. and Central America, in Taoyuan, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
TAOYUAN, Taiwan — Taiwan will not be stopped from engaging with the world and will not give in to pressure, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday as she arrived back from a trip to Central America and United States, where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, reacted with anger to the McCarthy meeting having demanded it not take place, though so far has held off ratcheting up military tensions to show its displeasure.
Speaking after stepping off her flight, Tsai said her enthusiastic welcome overseas was a powerful message.
“We showed the international community that in the face of pressure and threats Taiwan will be even more united and will absolutely not yield to suppression, nor due to obstructions stop exchanges with the world,” she said at Taiwan’s main international airport at Taoyuan outside of Taipei.
China staged war games around Taiwan last August following a visit to Taipei by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
While Taiwan has reported a Chinese aircraft carrier group far off its eastern coast, it has not reported any other unusual military movements.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, in a statement released shortly after Tsai’s flight landed, reiterated its opposition to her US trip, technically billed as a “transit” though in reality where her most important meetings took place.
However, Beijing did not announce any specific retaliatory steps.