US House Speaker McCarthy and Taiwanese President Speak to the Press - April 5, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivered remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. They spoke about their two nations' shared interests and values, including maintaining democracy and a free and open Indo-Pacific. President Tsai said, “it is no secret that, today, the peace that we have maintained and the democracy which we have worked hard to build, are facing unprecedented challenges. We once again find ourselves in a world where democracy is under threat, and the urgency of keeping the beacon of freedom shining cannot be understated.” Speaker McCarthy was the highest-ranking U.S. official to meet with a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil since 1979, when the U.S. formally established diplomatic relations with China. "