- Pelosi insists U.S. has ‘ironclad commitment to preserve democracy’
- As Beijing’s military surrounds island for wargames
Nancy Pelosi has boarded her US Air Force jet in Taipei and left Taiwan following a historic visit that enraged China and escalated tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and five other members of Congress are now heading to South Korea, the next stop on an Asia tour that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Earlier today, Pelosi accused China of ‘standing in the way’ of Taiwan’s participation in international affairs and cautioned that America’s commitment to preserving democracy ‘remains ironclad’ during a question-and-answer session with reporters Wednesday in Taiwan.
Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the US House of Representatives, also met with Taiwan’s female president Tsai Ing-wen – telling her that the controversial visit shows the US ‘will not abandon its commitment’ to the island.
The Democrat specifically called out China, whose leaders warned the trip was pushing Taiwan into a ‘disastrous abyss,’ by telling reporters: ‘They didn’t say anything when the men came.’
Her remark referred to the surprise one-day visit made by bipartisan congressional delegation in April 2021. The group included Senators Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez, Richard Burr, Ben Sasse and Rob Portman, as well as Rep. Ronny Jackson.
China furiously condemned the visit as Pelosi hailed self-ruled Taiwan as ‘one of the freest societies in the world’ in her speech to the parliament in Taipei.
Beijing demonstrated its anger with Pelosi’s presence on the island – that it says is part of China – with a burst of military activity in the surrounding waters, by summoning the US ambassador in Beijing and announcing the suspension of several agricultural imports from Taiwan.
Pelosi arrived at the airport in Taiwan in a black Cadillac after meeting with human rights activists, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square student leader Wu’er Kaixi, in a closed-door meeting at the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park.
She spent several minutes talking to officials and workers at Taipei’s Songshan airport before climbing the steps of the jet and waving to the crowd of supporters. The US military aircraft took off at 6pm local time (10.00 GMT), ending a visit of less than 24 hours to the island.
Nancy Pelosi has boarded her US Air Force jet in Taipei and left Taiwan following a historic visit that enraged China and escalated tensions between Beijing and Washington
She spent several minutes talking to officials and workers at the airport before climbing the steps of the jet and waving to the crowd of supporters
Pelosi, meeting leaders in Taiwan despite warnings from China, said Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in a visiting delegation are showing they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island.
‘Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy’ she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.
‘America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.’
North Korea’s foreign ministry criticized what it called US ‘imprudent interference’ in China’s internal affairs over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. A ministry spokesperson said they ‘vehemently denounce’ any external force’s interference in the issue of Taiwan and ‘fully support’ China, its major ally and economic lifeline.
‘It is the due right of a sovereign state to take counter measures against the moves of the outside forces openly interfering in its internal affairs and destroying its territorial integrity,’ the unidentified official said.
Shortly after the US delegation touched down in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, on Tuesday night, China announced live-fire drills that would start Tuesday night and a four-day exercise beginning Thursday in waters on all sides of the island.
China’s air force also flew a relatively large contingent of 21 war planes, including fighter jets, toward Taiwan.
The China State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Offices also slammed Tsai over Pelosi’s visit on Wednesday, alleging the Taiwanese president and her Democratic Progressive Party are ‘pushing Taiwan into a disastrous abyss,’ according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Spokesman Ma Xiaoguang also warned that ‘no one should underestimate the determination of the Chinese people in defending its sovereignty.’
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that Chinese military drills have violated United Nations rules, invaded Taiwan’s territorial space and amount to a blockade of its air and sea.
Indeed, Taiwan port authorities on Wednesday asked ships to find alternative routes and avoid areas of China’s announced drills around the island, according to government notices.
Ships going in and out of the seven major harbours across Taiwan including Taipei Harbour should be aware of the drills from noon August 4 to noon August 7, notices by Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau said.
Taiwanese officials said the island will firmly defend its security, counter any move that violates territorial sovereignty and enhance its alertness level with the principle of not asking for war.
The defense ministry added during a news conference on Wednesday that China continues to launch psychological warfare on Taiwan, and that citizens should not believe in rumors and report any fake news to the government.
China will surround Taiwan and effectively blockade the island later this week with massive military drills as Beijing escalates tensions over Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
Six days of military exercises kicked off Tuesday night with live-fire drills in and around the Taiwan strait that will last through today, as authoritarian China attempts to intimidate its democratic neighbour and pressure the US into dropping support.
Four more days of drills will then commence on Thursday and last until Sunday, taking place in six locations around Taiwan – three of which cross into the island’s territorial waters in what Taipei called a serious breach of international norms.
Shipping and air traffic will be closed down in those areas in what amounts to an effective blockade, as experts say Beijing is rehearsing its ability to cut the island off from the outside world in the event of a war.
But Pelosi – who on Tuesday became the most-senior politician to visit Taiwan since 1997, when China was last engaged in sabre-rattling – refused to back down, defiantly telling Beijing that the US ‘will not abandon its commitment’ to Taipei.
China is holding six days of military drills around Taiwan that will cross into its territorial waters in what Taipei has called a serious breach of international norms
Pelosi, standing beside President Tsai as she accepted the island’s highest civilian honor – the Order of Propitious Clouds – on behalf of Congress, said Wednesday: ‘Today, our delegation… came to Taiwan to make it unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and we are proud of our enduring friendship.’
‘Now more than ever, America’s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial and that is the message we are bringing here today.’
She added: ‘I look forward to displaying this award in the Speaker’s Office, or wearing it there, at the Capitol as a symbol of our treasured friendship.’
Pelosi told Taiwan’s Parliament Wednesday morning that the US had ‘come in peace for this region’ and issued ‘very strong, bipartisan way, in support of Taiwan.’
President Tsai thanked Pelosi for her concrete actions to support Taiwan at this critical moment and said the island will not back down in the face of Beijing’s threats.
‘Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down,’ Tsai said.
‘We will firmly uphold our nation’s sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy.’
The pair met in Taipei on Wednesday as part of Pelosi’s visit to the island which has drawn fierce criticism from China, and has prompted Beijing to announce a raft of military exercises and summon the US ambassador.
Tsai told Pelosi that she is one of Taiwan’s most devoted friends and thanked her for her unwavering support on the international stage.
She added that Taiwan is a reliable partner of the US and will continue to work with America to strengthen collaboration in security, economic development and supply chains.
Pelosi noted that support for Taiwan is bipartisan in Congress and praised the island’s democracy.
Her focus has always been the same, she said, going back to her 1991 visit to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, when she and other lawmakers unfurled a small banner supporting democracy – two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters at the square.
That visit was also about human rights and what she called dangerous technology transfers to ‘rogue countries.’
‘Just to go back to Tiananmen Square for a moment, that was bipartisan,’ she said. ‘It was over 30 years ago. It was bipartisan when we were in Tiananmen Square. We were there specifically making the statement on human rights.’
‘Our visit was about human rights, it was about unfair trade practices, and it was about dangerous technologies being transferred to rogue countries, to countries of concern.’
‘So over the years, it’s always been about security, economy, and governance,’ she added.
Pelosi is visiting a human rights museum in Taipei later Wednesday before she departs for South Korea, the next stop on an Asia tour that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Pelosi landed in Taiwan late Tuesday, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China, which views Taiwan as its territory and had warned it would consider her visit a major provocation.
‘Our congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,’ the Speaker said in a statement shortly after landing.
‘America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.’
As Pelosi, who is on a tour of Asia, touched down in a military aircraft after days of feverish speculation about her plans, the reaction from Beijing was swift.
US Ambassador Nicholas Burns was summoned by the Chinese foreign ministry late Tuesday and warned that Washington ‘shall pay the price’.
‘The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious,’ China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua. ‘China will not sit idly by.’
The Chinese military said it was on ‘high alert’ and would ‘launch a series of targeted military actions in response’ to the visit.
It promptly announced plans for a series of military exercises in waters around the island to begin on Wednesday, including ‘long-range live ammunition shooting’ in the Taiwan Strait.
‘China will take necessary and resolute countermeasures and we mean what we say,’ Xie said.
‘Those who play with fire will perish by it,’ Beijing’s foreign ministry added.
First published in Daily Mail (UK)