Nancy Pelosi Taiwan, the speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States, arrived in Taipei on Tuesday for a visit that has increased the tension between the United States and China to a new level.
Pelosi, a long-time critic of Beijing, has received repeated warnings from the government of China that she should not travel to Taiwan, which is self-ruled but which China claims as its territory.
Pelosi, the highest-ranking elected official from the United States to visit Taiwan in the past 25 years, stated that her trip “in no way” contradicted official United States policy, which recognizes “one China” but has not officially recognized Taiwan as an independent state. This made Pelosi the first elected official of this rank to visit Taiwan in the last 25 years.
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The latest verbal assault came on Tuesday from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who stated that lawmakers in the United States who “play with fire” on the topic of Taiwan will “come to no good end.”
On Monday, the United States made it clear that it would not be cowed by what it termed “sabre rattling” on the part of the Chinese government.
According to a person familiar with Pelosi’s agenda, most of the scheduled meetings she had planned, including the one with President Tsai Ing-Wen, were slated for Wednesday.
According to four different reports, she was supposed to meet with a group of activists on Wednesday afternoon who are vocal about China’s poor track record regarding human rights.
Pelosi’s office, as well as Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have both remained silent in response to reports of the latter’s upcoming travel plans.
According to the person who spoke with Reuters, in addition to Chinese planes flying near the median line of the sensitive canal on Tuesday morning, multiple Chinese vessels have remained close to the unofficial dividing line since Monday.
The White House issued a warning to China not to overreact to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan. The White House stated that Pelosi would have every right to visit the self-ruled island, despite the fact that Beijing views her trip as a highly provocative challenge.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs named Hua Chunying stated on Tuesday that China has been in contact with the United States on Representative Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
According to the Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times, Chinese Foreign Minister Yi warned that some US politicians who selfishly play with fire on the Taiwan question will become the enemies of 1.4 billion Chinese people and won’t meet with a good end. Yi was emphasizing how serious China’s position is.
According to reports in Japanese media, nine United States fighter jets and five refueling planes have taken off from a United States military base. They may be on their way to provide parameter security for Nancy Pelosi’s plane.
As a warning shot to the self-governed island of Taiwan in advance of a potential visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, China has since Monday suspended imports from 35 Taiwanese exporters of biscuits and pastries. This action was taken in response to Monday’s announcement that Pelosi would be visiting Taiwan.
According to a report by Reuters, which cited a source, the website of Taiwan’s presidential office was the target of an offshore cyber-attack on Tuesday, which caused it to malfunction at one time.
According to reports from Taiwanese media, the Taoyuan Airport in Taipei was the target of three bomb threats. These threats are thought to have been made in an attempt to interfere with Representative Pelosi’s arrival.
Tonight, China ramped up its military operations in and around Taiwan in preparation for the arrival of Pelosi.
