OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Chinese government has reacted angrily to news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will be traveling to Taiwan next month.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Pelosi’s stopover in Taiwan will come as part of a regional trip in Asia that includes visits to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, Reuters noted.
“If the U.S. side obstinately clings to this course, China will definitely take resolute and forceful measures to firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in response.
“The United States must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this,” he said.
#China urges that #US must not arrange House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, stop official exchange with #Taiwan, and stop creating tensions over the Taiwan Straits, or China will take forceful countermeasures: Chinese Foreign Ministry pic.twitter.com/qc4Xl0fS8H
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) July 19, 2022
The Speaker’s visit to Taiwan would cause “grave harm to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” he continued, according to The Washington Post, while it would also “seriously impact the political foundations of China-U.S. relations.”
The Western Journal adds:
Taiwan, an island off the coast of China, became the refuge for China’s Nationalist government in 1949 after it lost the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong and the Communists.
The United States does not officially recognize Taiwan’s government but has a policy that no changes in the status quo should take place. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China has taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Taiwan, claiming that the island is rightfully a part of China and should be governed as such. That has sparked increased military maneuvers around Taiwan.
Apparently, the Biden administration has expressed concerns about Pelosi’s trip, which would take place around the same time that China will be observing the Aug. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
The announced trip also comes a day after Beijing asked Washington to cancel $108 million in military-technical assistance to the island democracy.
"We won’t have a blind eye on #China’s threats to Taiwan. Europe was late for hk, we won't be late for #Taiwan. There is no room for Chinese aggression in democratic Taiwan," European Parliament vice president Nicola Beer said after arriving in Taiwan for a three-day visit. pic.twitter.com/HuTVhMtTNp
— Amber Wang (@ambermywang) July 19, 2022
Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe hit on the subject of Taiwan in June when he also issued a warning to the U.S., The Washington Post reported.
“Some people in the U.S. try to suppress China on all fronts. If you want confrontation, we will fight to the end,” Wei said. “If someone forces a war on China, the military will not flinch.”
“The People’s Liberation Army has fought many powerful adversaries and won many victories. We do not provoke trouble, but we will not flinch in the face of provocation. We will not bully others, but we will not allow others to bully us,” he said.
It’s not clear what battles and victories he is talking about, as the country has not fought major battles since its bloody, and costly, three-week war with Vietnam in 1979.
Wei then turned his attention to the United States.
“China will not be the bully. We are all clear-eyed who is the bully. Let me be clear: If anyone dares to secede Taiwan from China, we will not hesitate to fight. We will fight at all costs, and we will fight to the very end,” he vowed.
He also said the world needs to get used to China playing a commanding, if not dominating, role.
“China’s development is a historical trend. It is neither possible nor sensible to try to stop it,” he said.
Regarding Pelosi, former U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, who now heads up the Trump Media and Technology Group, said this week she has a lot to answer for regarding why U.S. Capitol Police did not take extra precautions before the incident nearly 18 months ago.
During an interview on Newsmax’s “Spicer & Co.,” Nunes, a former Republican congressman, was joined by Kash Patel, a former aide to Nunes when he chaired the House Intelligence Committee. Later, Patel became a top official in former President Donald Trump’s White House.
“There was intelligence ahead of time that the Capitol Police should have known – which clearly Kash over at the White House, they knew, which is why President Trump authorized National Guard troops,” Nunes said.
“You know there are tens of thousands of people coming, and you do nothing? And this is the question Nancy Pelosi is going to have to answer because the payback is going to be a ‘you-know-what’ if Republicans are successful this November,” he added.
