Taiwan

The White House has warned China against overreacting to a trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, saying she would have every right to visit the ...

"We're ready to fight," it added. "Nothing has changed," he said. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. "If she dares to stop in Taiwan, it will be the moment to ignite the powder keg of the situation in the Taiwan Straits," Hu Xijin, a former Global Times editor and now commentator, tweeted. Kirby confirmed that Pelosi is traveling on a military aircraft and said Washington does not fear a direct attack, but warned it "raises the stakes of a miscalculation". "The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan," he told reporters, adding: "There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding US policies into some sort of crisis."

Visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Pelosi triggers concern about possible Chinese retaliation.

The US military has been preparing to protect Pelosi, who is flying on a US Air Force aircraft. “They have been raising the pressure a lot recently,” said a second senior Taiwanese official. We’re going to make sure that she has a safe and secure visit.” “China appears to be positioning itself to potentially take further steps in the coming days,” Kirby said. Beijing opposes all visits by US lawmakers to Taiwan, over which it claims sovereignty. On Monday China intensified its threats.

National security council says speaker has 'right to visit' after China warns its military would 'not sit idly by'. Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker.

China’s spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said that because of Pelosi’s status as the “No 3 official of the US government”, a visit to Taiwan would “lead to egregious political impact”. Pelosi’s expected visit illustrates how difficult it is to strike a good strategic balance.” The Maritime Safety Administration warned ships to avoid the area. Beijing, which claims the self-governing island as its own province, has made clear it would see such a move as an unacceptable provocation. A few hours later, China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced yet another series of military exercises in the South China Sea from 2 August to 6 August. Taiwan’s government has not publicly commented on the reports.

Nancy Pelosi has embarked on a tour of East Asia that officials signalled on Monday was likely to include a stopover in Taiwan, the first by a US House ...

Police detained 14 employees of the Rainbow Creative Co for questioning over the alleged vandalism, including the company's head, Wei Pi-Jen, who defended their ...

Under contract with the Taichung city government, the Rainbow Creative Co has maintained and operated the village as a tourism venture for almost 10 years, while Huang has continued to live on site. The Rainbow Village is a former military housing estate in the city of Taichung, on Taiwan’s central western coast. Police detained 14 employees of the Rainbow Creative Co for questioning over the alleged vandalism, including the company’s head, Wei Pi-Jen, who defended their actions as a protest rather than “malicious destruction”. They were released on Sunday.

US officials say China may fire missiles near Taiwan if top lawmaker Nancy Pelosi visits the island.

She has previously met pro-democracy dissidents and visited Tiananmen Square to commemorate victims of the 1989 massacre. There is no drama to talk to. On Monday, China's United Nations envoy Zhang Jun warned the visit would undermine relations between Beijing and Washington, Reuters news agency reported.

Military and diplomatic efforts limit Beijing to angry bluster. Nancy Pelosi reacts after signing the CHIPS For America Act during a bill enrollment ceremony ...

“I do think there will be some form of retaliation,” Fritz said. “PLA Air Force aircraft [could shadow] her flight into or out of Taiwan…but there wouldn’t be any interaction,” Murrett said. That rhetoric reflects the Chinese government’s efforts to push back on long-established standards of U.S. engagement with the self-governing island. “Part of our responsibilities is to make sure that she can travel freely and securely and I can assure you that she will,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday, without elaborating. That tough-on-Taiwan policy is key to Xi’s credibility as he seeks an unprecedented third term as China’s leader this fall. Beijing has strongly protested Pelosi’s Taiwan visit and issued lurid warnings of a stern Chinese response. But the PLA is expected to flex some muscle in the Taiwan Strait — something that Chinese state media can trumpet as a symbol of Xi’s iron resolve — and which projects power over Taiwan without risking military confrontation. “The fairly aggressive statements we’ve had from China over the past few weeks are probably more for domestic than international [consumption] — the Chinese leadership cannot be seen as backing down in any shape or form,” said Ret. Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett, professor of practice at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. “President Xi can’t be seen as backing down from what could be viewed as a challenge by the speaker’s visit to Taiwan and at the same time, politically, the Congress and the [Biden] administration can’t be viewed as backing down, either.” U.S. congressional delegation visits to Taiwan are routine and U.S. law — the 2018 Taiwan Travel Act — authorizes “officials at all levels of the United States government … to meet their Taiwanese counterparts.” But the Chinese Communist Party considers “ reunification with Taiwan,” a territory that the CCP has never ruled, a “historical task.” And Chinese President Xi Jinping has ramped up pressure on the island with a relentless campaign of hostility since the 2016 election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party. “In advance of her arrival in Taiwan, the U.S. will relay detailed information about Speaker Pelosi’s flight plans to China’s military,” said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the nonprofit Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “U.S. officials will also message, publicly, and privately, the trip’s very limited goals and Washington’s continued adherence to its ‘One China’ policy … [and] work to shape and downplay the media coverage surrounding the trip.” “A visit to Taiwan by her would constitute a gross interference in China’s internal affairs ... and lead to a very serious situation and grave consequences,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's arrival would mark the most significant visit of a U.S. official to Taiwan in a quarter-century. But in Beijing's eyes, ...

Taiwan was at the heart of a testy phone call between Biden and Xi at the end of last week. “Had Pelosi not said she was going to Taiwan in the first place, no one would be suggesting she needed to go in order bolster American credibility in Asia,” left-leaning commentator Peter Beinart wrote. The most enthusiastic U.S. supporters of a Pelosi visit to Taiwan include hawkish former Trump administration officials. “Officials and analysts increasingly are competing to forecast when conflict could break out, not whether it will occur.” “There are also significant U.S. naval assets in the region at the moment.” Amid growing bipartisan support for a tighter U.S. embrace of Taiwan, Pelosi’s arrival would mark the most significant visit of a U.S. official to Taiwan in a quarter-century. But in Beijing’s eyes, it’s a dangerous provocation and an infringement of its “territorial integrity.” But that’s not how China will interpret the occasion. Experts have a rough sense of what those countermeasures may be. Whatever the case, the prospect of the third-most senior figure in U.S. government visiting the world’s only Chinese-speaking democracy has roiled Asia’s already choppy geopolitical waters. The United States, meanwhile, has in practice shifted steadily away from its official policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether it would come to Taiwan’s defense. You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter.

Three people familiar with the situation said Pelosi would meet Tsai in Taipei as part of a wider visit to Asia that began in Singapore on Sunday. Pelosi did ...

Analysis: The House speaker, who stood up for activists in Tiananmen Square in 1991, has long seen the role as part of her job.

Chu said that was the beginning of decades of advocacy that has colored her view of US foreign policy, pointing to a version of the line she repeats often when asked about the subject. Pelosi has long been one of the most strident and outspoken critics of China, a position that has in the past allied her with conservatives. In recent years, Pelosi has emerged as a world leader in her own right, meeting frequently with heads of state to discuss global challenges, the climate crisis chief among them. Two years after Chinese troops with tanks crushed a pro-democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square, Pelosi visited the site of the massacre alongside two other lawmakers. “This has to ultimately be about the aspirations of the Taiwanese people,” Chu said. During the Trump years, her diplomacy took on an even greater prominence as a high-profile counterweight to the former president’s isolationism. But on Monday, John Kirby, a spokesman for the defense department, said no one in the administration was seeking to change her mind about the trip. A possible Taiwan visit must “be seen through Pelosi’s view: this is not just symbolism,” Silverberg said. The sharp warnings from Beijing, implying that the visit could provoke a military response from China, have Washington on high alert. Pelosi has declined to confirm a visit, citing security concerns. Appearing on Fox News, Gingrich said he hoped Pelosi would make the trip. China, which claims Taiwan as its own province, has threatened unspecified consequences for the US should Pelosi make the trip.

The White House urged China not to escalate tensions with the US in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's expected visit to Taiwan, signaling the Biden ...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is making the highest-level trip in 25 years by a U.S. government official to Taiwan, ...

Mrs. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan would heighten geopolitical tensions, presenting another risk for global investors, warned OCBC Research in a note this week.

Taipei and Washington braced for violent reaction after Beijing warns it will 'not sit by idly'

US House speaker is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday in a controversial visit likely to increase tensions between Beijing and Washington.

In a lengthy phone call last week, China’s president Xi Jinping warned US president Joe Biden against “playing with fire” over Taiwan, while officials have repeatedly said the PLA would not “stand idly by” over the visit. The CCP strongly objects to foreign shows of support for what it says is a “separatist” government in Taiwan, especially from the US. He noted visits by previous speakers and other members of Congress to Taiwan, and urged calm from China. “A visit to Taiwan by her would constitute a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, wantonly trample on the one-China principle,” he said. Taiwan, whose government has refused to comment on the visit, often welcomes foreign delegations as it seeks to grow its international relationships. Multiple media reports have said Pelosi will land in Taipei on Tuesday night and meet Taiwan’s president on Wednesday, as an unofficial stop during her Asia tour.

The benchmark Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index declined as much as 2.1%. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. sank 3.1%. China views Taiwan as ...

A coalition of Chinese Americans and anti-war activists accused the House speaker of picking a fight instead of delivering for her district.

She’s going with the flow, going with pushing U.S. hegemony to contain China. For what? But people really need her to focus on our needs here.” China.” Josh Koehn / The Standard “I mean, she’s made fun of Trump on our behalf. Josh Koehn / The Standard

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg of an Asian tour that has been overshadowed by an ...

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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian state media reported, her second stop in an Asian tour that has sparked anger in ...

And yesterday, China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Hun, said such a visit would be "very much dangerous, very much provocative". "We are meticulously preparing various plans and appropriate troops will be dispatched to respond in accordance with the regulations of emergency situation responses and the threat posed by the enemy," Taipei's defence ministry said in a statement. "The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan," he told reporters.

In the era of US-China geopolitical competition, US president Joe Biden has been keen to ensure great power politics do not lead to uncontrollable ...

This suspicion will be deepened by Monday’s report that a high-profile delegation of British MPs is also planning on a visit to Taipei later this year. In Beijing’s perspective, Ms Pelosi’s visit is a “provocation” that will lead to further distrust of Washington in the long term. Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia programme at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, said the probability of war or a serious incident is low. On Monday, China’s spokesperson warned its military would “not sit idly by” if the visit happened. It also comes as the People’s Liberation Army was celebrating the 95th anniversary of its founding. Beijing today sees the unification with Taiwan as a part of President Xi Jinping’s project national rejuvenation.

Trade routes to Europe, Middle East run through Taiwan Strait · 88% of largest container ships transited waterway this year.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — For Taiwan, a successful visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week is about more than avoiding an immediate crisis in the Taiwan Strait ...

According to Taiwanese survey data, only 35 of those polled in March were confident that the United States would intervene, down from 65 percent in November. For Tsai and many others within her Democratic Progressive Party, raising Taiwan’s international status is not, as Beijing charges, a change in the status quo. Chinese President Xi Jinping “faces a dilemma to optimize the robustness of China’s response to Pelosi’s visit,” Sung said. Taiwanese analysts expect that China will go beyond large-scale military drills and adopt various forms of economic coercion to punish Taiwan for the visit. Chinese scholars claim these represent a change in the United States’ one China policy, which neither challenges nor endorses Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan. Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to land Tuesday night local time and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Chinese and Taiwanese militaries dispatched fighter jets, ordered military exercises and bolstered combat readiness as Taiwan prepared ...

“Tonight we call it fried chicken of democracy,” he said of his plan to hand out 100 portions. Lam said he was invited to attend an event Wednesday with the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. Embassy, but was not told whether Pelosi would be there. “Pelosi’s visit now has a very different meaning,” said Chu Shulong, professor of political science and international relations at Tsinghua University, comparing Pelosi’s trip to Gingrich’s visit. “Taiwan will be the biggest winner. In the last Taiwan Strait crisis in 1995-1996, China sent missiles that landed near Taiwan. Pelosi would be the first House speaker to travel to Taiwan since Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in 1997. “The United States should and must take full responsibility for this,” she said. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged to “reunify” Taiwan with China by force if necessary. Chinese maritime authorities, meanwhile, announced additional military exercises in the South China Sea and live-fire drills in the Bohai Sea, near the Korean Peninsula, this week. China banned food shipments on Monday from more than 100 Taiwanese exporters. Taiwanese media outlets reported that Pelosi was expected to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, lawmakers and human rights activists on Wednesday. The impending visit has drawn outrage from China, which for years has sought to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and views such exchanges with high-level foreign dignitaries as support for the island’s formal independence.

The island democracy governs itself, but China claims it as its territory. Rumors of Pelosi's visit launched a geopolitical firestorm amid escalating tensions ...

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US politician's visit appears to prompt high levels of military movement among Chinese, Taiwanese and US militaries.

Pelosi is expected to stay in the Grand Hyatt hotel on the outskirts of Taipei city, before meeting Tsai on Wednesday morning. Taiwan officials would not comment on the highly anticipated visit before Pelosi’s arrival, other than to say it always welcomes the visits of foreign friends. Among the concerns about China’s reaction were fears it would send PLA aircraft to intercept or tail her plane into Taiwan’s airspace. On Tuesday afternoon, almost 300,000 people were tracking a US air force flight that was potentially carrying the speaker’s delegation. Some, including senior Taiwanese figures who spoke on condition of anonymity, expected any significant act to occur after Pelosi departed, to avoid a confrontation with US military assets. According to multiple social media posts it also drove dozens of tanks and other armoured vehicles through the Chinese mainland city of Xiamen, which is just three miles (5km) across the water from Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen Island.