McCarthy, bipartisan group of House members meet with Taiwanese president

April 5 (UPI) -- A bipartisan group of House lawmakers waved off threats of retaliation from China over their meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, reaffirming the U.S. support for Taiwan.

Tsai met with a U.S. House Speaker for the second time in a year when she joined Rep. Kevin McCarthy in California.

Tsai was greeted by McCarthy and a gathering of bipartisan lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. It was the first time a president of Taiwan has met the U.S. speaker of the House in the United States.

McCarthy was joined on stage by GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Democrats Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, among others.

At the podium, with the rolling hills of Simi Valley as his backdrop, McCarthy touted the bipartisan presence on the stage with him. Aguilar echoed McCarthy's sentiment.

McCarthy said the relationship between the United States and Taiwan has never been stronger.

"The members here today make clear, we take our support for the people of Taiwan seriously," McCarthy said.

The speaker shared some details about his meeting with Tsai earlier in the day. He said they discussed "the crucial ways to further our bonds." From those conversations he found it clear that a number of actions must be taken to achieve this goal. The first of those actions is to continue selling arms to Taiwan and assure they reach their destination in a "timely fashion."

McCarthy and Tsai also discussed furthering the economic relationship between the United States and Taiwan. Taiwan's economy is largely reliant on trade with China, and China has an economic interest in Taiwan, the world's largest producer of semiconductors.

"I felt our meeting today provided a greater peace and stability for the world," McCarthy said.

China has taken offense at the meeting, calling it a "provocation" and saying it will take measures to "fight back."

"If she makes contact with U.S. House Speaker McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle, undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a press briefing last week.

Krishnamoorthi questioned China's proposed "one-China, two-system" policy, remarking that the policy was only implemented in name in Hong Kong.

"Freedom has unfortunately not been compatible with that one system," he said. "That's why our bond with the Taiwanese people is unshakeable. We will always support them in defending their freedom."

"To our strategic competitors in the CCP we say with one voice, we do not want war. We want peace," he added. "We are a peace-loving people, but we want a durable peace, and we must deter aggression at all costs."

The last meeting between the Taiwanese president and a House speaker -- then Rep. Nancy Pelosi -- was to the ire of the People's Republic of China. Pelosi traveled to Taiwan in August to show support for the island nation's sovereignty. China meanwhile staged large combat exercises in the air and sea nearby. China subsequently issued sanctions against Taiwan.

Tsai came to the United States after traveling to Guatemala and Belize. As she prepared to depart her capital city Taipei, Tsai reportedly said she will "neither yield nor provoke."

"Taiwan will firmly walk on the road of freedom and democracy and go into the world," she said, according to NBC News.