The trip will mark the first visit to the island by a House speaker in 25 years
by Dave DeCamp Posted on
Categories News Tags China, Taiwan
According to several media reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to lead a delegation to Taiwan next month despite repeated warnings from China that the visit will escalate tension between Washington and Beijing.
Pelosi’s visit would mark the first time in 25 years that a sitting House speaker visited the island since Newt Gingrich made the trip in 1997. She was set to travel to Taiwan in April but canceled the trip after testing positive for Covid-19.
Responding to the news of Pelosi’s planned trip, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian delivered a stern warning. He said if Pelosi goes through with the visit, China will “take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Zhao said that because Congress is part of the US government, it should follow the One China policy. Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 and typically sent former officials to represent US interests. But in recent years, Congressional delegations have become increasingly more common.
China has been responding to high-level US visits to Taiwan with military activity near the island. Earlier this month, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), a proponent of giving the president war powers to intervene if China attacks the island, traveled to Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing responded by flying warplanes over the median line that separates the Taiwan Strait.
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