The Chinese Consulate lodged a formal complaint with Assemblyman Tri Ta's office after he posted a photo on social media showing his meeting with Taiwan's Director General. Ta's response, delivered without hesitation: no.

According to a statement released Thursday by Ta's Sacramento office, consulate representatives contacted staff to express anger over the photo and applied pressure over his public recognition of Taiwan's representative. Ta rejected the overture directly.

"Let me be very clear: California elected officials do not take orders from the Chinese Communist Party," Ta said in the statement. "It is deeply inappropriate for a foreign authoritarian government to attempt to intimidate American public officials over who we meet with or what we post."

Ta, a Republican who represents California's 70th Assembly District — which covers Westminster, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Stanton, Midway City and portions of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach — called Taiwan a close democratic ally and a valued partner to California.

"Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, a critical economic partner, and a close friend of the United States," he said. "I will always be proud to stand with the Taiwanese people and recognize their representatives."

The pushback from Beijing's consulate comes as China continues a long-running campaign to suppress international recognition of Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province. In the United States, those efforts have increasingly targeted state and local officials — a trend that has drawn growing scrutiny from Congress and foreign policy observers.

Ta drew a direct line between that pattern and the call to his office.

"The Chinese Communist Party has a long track record of trying to silence critics and pressure institutions around the world," he said. "Those tactics may work under authoritarian rule in Beijing, but they have no place in the United States."

He added that the attempt at pressure had the opposite of its intended effect.

"If Beijing believes that complaining to my office will make me back down, they are mistaken," Ta said. "If anything, it only reinforces why it is so important to stand with Taiwan and against authoritarian intimidation."

The statement noted that the 70th District is home to large numbers of residents who fled authoritarian regimes — including the Vietnamese-American community centered in Westminster and Garden Grove's Little Saigon. For many of those residents, the dynamic between a free Taiwan and an authoritarian Beijing is not an abstraction.

Ta's office did not specify which consulate official made the contact or exactly when it occurred. The statement was released March 12, 2026.