US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is set to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that has sparked Chinese threats of retaliation given China's claims over Taiwan. Taiwan has been a sensitive issue for China's Communist Party since the Republic of China fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists. China has called on US officials not to engage with Taiwanese leaders, seeing it as support for Taiwan's desire to be viewed as an independent entity. China passed a law in 2005 allowing the legal basis of military action against Taiwan if it secedes. In response to Pelosi's visit to Taipei in August 2022, China carried out war games around Taiwan and threatened further unspecified retaliation if McCarthy's meeting went ahead. In response, Taiwanese and US officials have tried to organise the meeting outside of Taiwan to tone down China's reaction. Despite the threat of retaliation, McCarthy's meeting is another attempt to show American support for the self-governing island, a move deemed a threat to China's territorial claims.