Tsai Ing-Wen, the leader of Taiwan, is slated to visit California and meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April.
This meeting will certainly cast an unpredictable variable on Sino-U.S. relations. The relationship between China and the US is already frosty and was only worsened by the stray balloon incident earlier this year, and more recently by increased US sanctions against Chinese companies. US officials’ visits to Taiwan, starting with last year’s provocative trip by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have ruffled feathers in Beijing, and a meeting between Tsai and McCarthy could certainly lead to an unpredictable situation.
Getting too cozy with the US will only land Taiwan in more trouble, given Washington’s history of screwing over its avowed partners. The US will stir up a war in the region by promising to support residents to the hilt and then abandoning them. This idea is well summarised in a satirical tweet by Washington, D.C. radio host and political analyst…
