Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reportedly plan to meet in California

Adjustment of Republican’s original plan to visit self-ruled island meant to deter aggressive response from Beijing

Tsai invited to speak at Reagan Library, but ‘no confirmation if she’ll accept or when she would come if she did’

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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, previously voiced a desire to visit Taiwan like his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:20am, 7 Mar 2023Updated: 6:21am, 7 Mar 2023

Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen reportedly plans to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California instead of Taipei in the coming weeks, likely to deter an aggressive response from Beijing that would have followed the Republican’s originally planned visit to the island.

Tsai will reportedly travel to the US in April en route to Central America. However, Taiwan’s foreign ministry and the Presidential Office have yet to announce a trip.

McCarthy, a California Republican elected speaker in January, had said he would “love” to visit Taiwan as leader of the House, days ahead of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to the island last August.

Beijing reacted to Pelosi’s visit – the first by a speaker since Republican Newt Gingrich in 1997 – with a nearly complete blockade of Taiwan, followed by unprecedented live-fire military drills around the island. Beijing also cut off a range of communication channels with the US, including on climate change and military exchanges – moves the White House labelled as an “overreaction”.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute confirmed it had invited Tsai to speak at the Reagan Library in southern California, but said it had “no confirmation if she’ll accept or when she would come if she did”.