"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 who's now commentator, tweeted. The Global Times, China's state-run tabloid, suggested Pelosi might use "emergency excuses like an aircraft fault or refuelling" to land at a Taiwanese airport. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict," the spokesperson said. "There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding U.S. Taiwan has been visited by a House speaker before - Newt Gingrich went to Taiwan in 1997. Pelosi, the spokesperson said, "will make her own decision because Congress is an independent branch of government." officials there are usually kept secret until delegations land.Ī spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said Monday morning that Pelosi "has not confirmed her travel plans," adding that the national security team has engaged with Pelosi and her team and has given her "thorough briefings." "The trip will focus on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region," her office said, referring to the Asia-Pacific. media speculation and the speaker refusing to confirm her itinerary. Pelosi's office confirmed her Asia trip in a statement Sunday once her plane was in the air, following days of U.S. Mohd Fyrol, Official Photographer / (Singapore) Ministry of Communications and Information / Handout via Reuters House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shakes hands with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore on August 1, 2022. "We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Zhao told a regular daily briefing. He warned it would result in "very serious developments and consequences." The Reuters news agency quotes Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying Monday it would be "a gross interference in China's internal affairs" if Pelosi were to stop in Taiwan. Kirby said the Biden administration has provided context and information to Pelosi ahead of her trip, whatever stops her trip may bring, and will continue to do so while she is on her trip.īeijing considers self-ruled Taiwan its territory - to be seized one day, by force if necessary - and says it would regard a Pelosi visit as a major provocation. The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan, and the speaker of the House has visited Taiwan before, without incident, as have many members of Congress, including this year."
This is well known to the PRC, given our more than four decades of diplomatic relations. "Our Constitution embeds a separation of powers. "We have been clear from the very beginning that she will make her own decisions, and that Congress is an independent branch of government," Kirby said.