Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meets U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Los Angeles at 1:00 p.m. ET on April 5.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) deliver statements to the media after their meeting at 3:00 p.m. ET on April 5.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in New York City at 3:00 p.m. ET on March 29. 

ET on April 5 after meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Whipps has visited Taiwan several times, having met both Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen. Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu, all forum members, are among Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies. 

During the 2022 visit, Graham’s delegation met with then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

The group included then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and they met with then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and senior security officials.

Zhu participated in protests against then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen in 2019 on her visit to New York. Photos of the protest show him standing beside Linda Sun, a onetime aide to New York Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul.

Previous Taiwanese leaders, including Tsai Ing-wen, also used June 4 anniversaries to call for greater openness about the events of 1989. Lai, who took office in 2024, has said Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its people. 

Then-President-elect Trump held a rare phone call with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, in December 2016.

The last time a ⁠Taiwanese president visited Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland and home to around 1.3 million people, was in 2023, when Tsai Ing-wen made ​the journey. By Ben ‌Blanchard and Yimou Lee

Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) meets Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan on Feb. 22.

The last known exception was in December 2016, when Trump accepted a call from then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen after his first electoral victory.

In contrast, the regime views the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as separatists and has refused to deal with the administrations of Tsai Ing-wen, and, now, President Lai Ching-te.

In April 2023, during a visit by then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Sun took photos of protesters and sent them to the Chinese official.

China’s communist regime has intensified diplomatic, economic, and military pressure on Taiwan since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016 with the election of Tsai Ing-wen, who served two four-year terms.

Since then, the CCP, which views the DPP as separatists, has refused to deal with the administrations of Tsai Ing-wen and, now, President Lai Ching-te.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been in power since 2016, during which time the CCP has refused to deal with its administration, labeling both President Lai Ching-te and his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, as “separatists” because of their outspoken

On Dec. 2, 2016, Lai’s predecessor, President Tsai Ing-wen, called then-President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his election win. Trump was not yet in office, so the call was one between a head of state and a private citizen.

When asked about Sullivan’s remarks, Lai pointed to the economic achievements of the past 10 years under DPP governments led by himself and his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen.

Another group of U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan with a message, sharing it during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. For the first time, the Netherlands is publicly condemning China's cyber espionage.

Ing-wen.

Huang also recruited a former political adviser at Lai’s office—during Lai’s tenure as vice president under the previous administration of Tsai Ing-wen—through Chiu Shih-yuan.

Since 2016, the Chinese regime has refused to deal with the DPP-led government, branding both President Lai Ching-te and his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, as “separatists” for their vocal advocacy of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Even Trump's prior contact with Taiwan, a December 2016 call with then-President Tsai Ing-wen, came before he took office, as president-elect.

After Tsai Ing-wen became president in 2016, her government formally barred Chinese capital from entering Taiwan’s integrated circuit sector, a policy that remains unchanged today.

The Chinese regime considers the self-governing island its own territory, and labels Lai and his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, both DPP members, as “separatists” for their outspoken commitment to the island’s sovereignty.

In 2019, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to New York City and held a banquet on July 12. Taiwan’s representatives there invited Cuomo to join the event.

“Unfortunately, your agency’s response failed to adequately address our request or provide a plan of action to officially extend an invitation to President Tsai Ing-wen.

Still, in December 2016, Trump, then the president-elect, held a rare phone call with Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. Trump told reporters on May 20 that he would speak to Lai before he made a decision on an arms deal with the nation.