Speaker McCarthy is planning a trip to Taiwan this spring and the Chinese government is not happy about that. China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning is delivering a message to McCarthy – don’t come.

China does not want McCarthy to follow Pelosi in showing support of Taiwan with a visit, something that might violate the long-standing U.S. policy known as the one-China policy. Don’t violate basic norms, Mr. Speaker.

“We urge certain individuals in the U.S. to earnestly abide by the one-China principle,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a Monday briefing, adding that the U.S. should “stop doing anything that violates the basic norms in international relations.”

Mao was asked during that briefing about a report last week that McCarthy was planning a trip to Taiwan. McCarthy said that if he was elected Speaker of the House, he would visit Taiwan. McCarthy supported Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last August.

One thing Mao did say was that China would “never promise to give up the use of force” to unify Taiwan with China. She also said that the Chinese government hoped to resolve the situation peacefully. What are they going to do, repeat the tantrum they had when Pelosi visited? China made threats and held live-fire military drills close to Taiwan to use intimidation as a tool against the United States. China accused the U.S. of using “dirty tricks” with Pelosi making the trip, the first trip by a House speaker to Taiwan in 25 years.

It was a bold move by Pelosi at the time. Lots of lawmakers objected to her going to Taiwan and potentially creating additional tension between the U.S. and China. That criticism was misguided, in my opinion. It didn’t matter if Pelosi stopped in Taiwan during a trip overseas or not. There is already tension between the U.S. and China, there is no denying that. China is making noises aggressively toward Taiwan, emboldened by Biden’s perceived weakness in world affairs. Ever since the administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden has been seen as a weak leader. The Chinese leadership sure doesn’t respect or fear Sleepy Joe. Pelosi did not back down when the threats from China began, even when the White House originally opposed her decision to go.

China froze the U.S. out in retaliation. China suspended dialogue with the United States on several issues from climate change to military relations and anti-drug efforts. Yet, Pelosi’s commitment to the stop in Taiwan spurred on other lawmakers and public officials to take their trips to Taiwan. That was the appropriate response. Trips to Taiwan by public officials and lawmakers should be normalized. The United States recognizes the PRC as the legal government of China and acknowledges Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a part of China without endorsing that fact. That is the One China policy. Nothing has changed.

The dazed and confused man in the White House complicated matters with the One China policy, not Pelosi or the others who traveled to Taiwan. When asked by reporters, Biden, who for years we were told was an expert in foreign policy, screwed things up by saying the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China attacks. Joe Biden is not and never has been an expert in foreign policy. It was a narrative he invented for himself. His ego is larger than his brain.

The Pentagon is making plans to ensure McCarthy’s safety on the trip. It’s good that McCarthy is making good on his plan to visit Taiwan. Will the delegation he takes with him be a bipartisan one?