Reuters Reports McCarthy Plans to Meet Tsai 路透社:麥卡錫將與蔡會面 亦無礙後續訪台

Reuters has reported U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed he plans to meet President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. this year and this does not rule out him visiting Taiwan in the future. The Economist, meanwhile, reported that Taiwan has not yet decided on how and if it would respond to a Chinese invasion.

Reuters has reported that according to sources, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in the coming weeks and this does not rule out him visiting Taiwan in the future. McCarthy's office did not respond immediately to Reuters' questions on the matter, while the U.S. Department of State said the speaker of the House is free to meet with anyone. It also used the opportunity in responding to a question about the report to criticize China for undermining the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Ned Price, Spokesperson, US Department of State: “Leaving aside the reports that have been out there about Speaker McCarthy and a potential engagement, is the fact that the PRC has consistently sought to undermine the prevailing status quo.”

When asked about the Taiwan Strait situation during a press conference on March 7, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang said he knew the issue would be raised so he brought a copy of the constitution. He quoted from it, and asked the U.S. not to interfere with China's internal affairs. In response, the White House said the U.S.' one-China policy has not changed and it opposes unilateral changes to the status quo. Meanwhile, The Economist reported that Tsai said the decision to lengthen the compulsory military service period to one year was an "incomparably difficult decision." It said this decision shouldn't be so difficult, but it reflects the fact that Taiwan has not yet decided how and if it will respond to a Chinese invasion. This issue involves cognitive warfare.

Lin Ying-yu, Asst. Prof., Grad. Inst. of Int'l Affairs & Strat. Studies, TKU: “They would like to use this method to reduce awareness of war or people's perceptions of China and other countries.”

Chen Chien-jen, Premier: “I believe the Taiwanese people are sufficiently alert and have sufficient determination to defend the universal values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.”

Premier Chen Chien-jen said he will continue strengthening Taiwan's power and he believes the people will unite to defend their free and democratic way of life when facing a threat.

《路透社》報導，美國眾議院議長麥卡錫證實，計畫今年與總統蔡英文在美國會面，也提到這並不影響之後訪問台灣，消息人士指出會面時間點可能就是未來幾週，國務院表示議長能自行決定與誰會面，也批評中國藉此試圖破壞台海和平與穩定。

美國國務院發言人普萊斯表示：「撇開關於麥卡錫議長未來可能會面的報導不談，事實上是中國一直試圖破壞目前的台海現狀。」

中國外交部長秦剛昨（7）日在記者會上拿出憲法，要美國不要干涉內政，白宮對此表示美國一中政策不變，反對片面改變台海現狀。中國不放棄武力犯台，《經濟學人》報導指出，先前總統蔡英文宣布兵役延長，坦言是無比困難的決定，這決定不該這麼難，卻反映一個事實，台灣還沒決定如何及是否對抗中國侵略，其中存在中國心理戰等難題。

淡江戰略所助理教授林穎佑表示：「他們會希望用這種方式去降低我們民眾的抗戰意識，或是我們民眾對於中國的觀感，以及我們民眾對於其他國家的觀感。」

行政院長陳建仁說：「我相信台灣人民有足夠的警覺、有足夠的決心，來捍衛我們自由民主法治還有人權的普世價值。」

陳建仁表示，未來會繼續使得台灣國力加強，相信全民在面對威脅的時候，都能夠團結一致，來努力來捍衛我們自由民主的生活方式。