Pelosi’s plans to visit Taiwan have a new intrigue
Speaker of the US House of Representatives may still make an annoying visit to the Chinese
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will still visit Taiwan, CNN reports, citing Taiwanese and American official sources. The plans of a third person in Washington's political hierarchy to visit the island provoked a strong reaction in China.
Photo: AP
Nancy Pelosi is still expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia, CNN reported, citing a senior Taiwanese government official and US official, despite warnings from Biden administration officials who are worried about China's reaction to such a high-profile visit.< /p>
Visit Taiwan — first for the Speaker of the US House of Representatives in 25 years — is currently not included in Pelosi's publicly announced Asian tour itinerary and comes at a time when US-China relations are already at a low point.
The Taiwanese source added that the speaker of the US House of Representatives is expected to stay in Taiwan overnight. It is not yet clear exactly when Pelosi will fly to Taipei.
The US official added that US Department of Defense officials are working around the clock to monitor any movement of Chinese in the region and develop a plan to ensure the safety of Pelosi's trip.
< p>The issue of Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, remains one of the most contentious, notes CNN. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed the topic at length during a two-hour, 17-minute phone call Thursday amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. the most delicate and important key issue in relations between China and the United States, », — said Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang at the Aspen Security Forum in July.
Joe Biden said last month that the US military opposes Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, but argues in the White House that the Speaker of the House is free to decide where she goes and that they have little influence on her decision.
< However, in recent weeks, Biden administration officials have been working to clarify the risks of a visit to Taiwan in meetings with Pelosi and her team. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin recently said he discussed a visit to Asia with Pelosi.
The U.S. administration takes particular care for Pelosi's safety when she travels overseas because she is in the presidential line of succession.
Administration officials are concerned that Pelosi's trip comes at a particularly stressful time as Xi is expected to will seek an unprecedented third term at the upcoming Chinese Communist Party Congress. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for this forum in the coming weeks, pressuring the leadership in Beijing to show strength.
US officials also believe that the Chinese leadership does not fully understand the political dynamics in the United States, leading to a misunderstanding of the importance of Pelosi's possible visit. Officials say China could confuse Pelosi's visit with an official administration visit, since both she and Biden are Democrats. Administration officials are concerned that China does not separate Pelosi much from Biden, if at all.
Pelosi has long been known as a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party. She met with pro-democracy Chinese dissidents and the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Chinese Embassy in the United States objected to her pending trip to Taiwan, which was scheduled for April before Pelosi had tested positive for COVID-19.
“On the Taiwan issue, we have made our position clear and concise, — Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Penyu says. – The Embassy is making every effort to ensure that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the stability of Sino-US relations are undermined by the potential visit of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.”
“We hope that serious consequences can be avoided, — he added. “It's in the common interest of both China and the United States.”
Many Democrats and Republicans in Congress have said Pelosi has the right to go to Taiwan.
“The decision to go to Taiwan only accepts Speaker Pelosi, not any other country, — Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood approves. – In our democratic system, we work with separate but equal branches of government. It is inappropriate for foreign governments, including the Chinese government, to try to interfere with the ability or right of the speaker, members of Congress, or other US government officials to travel to Taiwan or anywhere else in the world.