U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, Similarly, China reacted with immediate anger to the first visit by a high-ranking US official in 25 years.
Key Point:
- China immediately responded to her arrival with a foreign minister statement
- The Chinese military has announced that it will conduct exercises across Taiwan in the coming days.
- Pelosi says her visit is not a departure from ‘long-standing’ US policy
Pelosi and her delegation disembarked from a US government jet at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei and were greeted by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and US representative to Taiwan Sandra Udkirk.
Pelosi defended the visit to Taiwan, saying it “doesn’t go against long-standing U.S. policy.”
“The U.S. congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan celebrates the United States’ unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,” Pelosi said.
“Today, as the world faces a choice between dictatorship and democracy, the solidarity of the 23 million people of Taiwan and the United States is more important than ever.”
Pelosi is on an announced tour of Asia that includes visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Her stay in Taiwan was not announced, but was widely anticipated.
Before her arrival on Tuesday, Chinese fighter jets buzzed the line that separates the Taiwan Strait. This was confirmed shortly thereafter as a sign of upcoming events.
China’s defense ministry said after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the Chinese military was now on high alert and would launch “targeted military operations”.
Separately, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said it would conduct a joint military operation near Taiwan from Tuesday night.
Exercises include joint air and sea exercises to the north, southwest and southeast of Taiwan.
These exercises will be combined with long-range live-fire fires in the Taiwan Strait and missile-launch tests in Taiwan’s East Sea, the Eastern Theater Command said.
Taiwan’s defense ministry urged residents to keep calm, but condemned China’s actions.
Ms. Pelosi landed to fanfare, and the Taipei 101 building lit up with LED displays to welcome Ms. Pelosi to Taiwan.
Shortly after, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi again strongly criticized the United States.
“Some American politicians are playing with fire on the Taiwan issue,” Wang said in a statement.
“This is definitely not going to end well. The exposure of America’s bully’s face shows once again that he is the world’s greatest peace disturber.”
China’s foreign ministry also said it had lodged a strong protest with the United States.
Most of Pelosi’s scheduled meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, including with President Tsai Ing-wen, said a person familiar with her itinerary.
Four sources said she was scheduled to meet on Wednesday afternoon with a group of activists speaking out about the human rights situation in China.
In a column for The Washington Post, Pelosi described China’s “brutal crackdown” on political dissent in Hong Kong and its treatment of Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities, whom the US viewed as genocide. I wrote about the subject I criticized. .
Pelosi, 82, was a close ally of Republican Democrat President Joe Biden and a key figure in guiding his legislative agenda through the US Congress.
ABC/Reuters
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