International
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan despite warnings from China and Russia
United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reached Taiwan late on Tuesday on a trip she said was intended to express American solidarity with the Chinese-claimed Island.
This is the first such visit in 25 years and one that risks pushing relations between Washington and Beijing to a new low, international news agency Reuters reported.
As per the report, Pelosi and her delegation disembarked from a US Air Force transport plan at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei and were greeted by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, and Sandra Oudkirk, the top US representative in Taiwan.
“Our congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,” Pelosi 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,” Pelosi added, as per the report.
China immediately condemned Pelosi’s visit, with the foreign ministry saying it seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The ministry said it had lodged a strong protest with the United States.
Meanwhile, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday before her arrival, and Chinese state media, as per Reuters, said People’s Liberation Army would hold exercises near Taiwan from Thursday through Sunday.
Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the US presidency and a long-time critic of Beijing, was on a tour of Asia that includes announced visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Her stop in Taiwan had not been announced but had been widely anticipated.
Earlier, Beijing’s Ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, has said, “Such a visit is apparently dangerous and provocative.”
Among other things, it would “send a wrong signal to the separatist elements” in Taiwan, infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, threaten peace and stability in the region, and “undermine the relationship between China and the US,” he added.
“China is fully prepared to respond. If the US insists on making the visit, China will take firm and strong measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the US has to bear all the serious consequences arising thereof,” the envoy warned.
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