China said on Tuesday (19) that it would respond with assertive measures if the Speaker of the United States, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, makes a visit to Taiwan, the practically independent island but Beijing classifies as a rebel province.
Delivered by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, the statement comes after the British newspaper Financial Times reported that Pelosi would visit Taipei in August. This would be the first trip by an American Speaker of the House to the Asian country in at least 25 years.
The newspaper says it has heard from six sources close to the Democrat who confirmed that she would take an entourage to Taiwan. California policy had already planned a similar trip in April this year, but had to cancel because he was diagnosed with Covid.
Should the trip take place, Pelosi would be the highest-ranking U.S. figure to visit the island since one of her predecessors in the House presidency, Republican Newt Gingrich, traveled there in 1997.
The delegation would also pass through Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hawaii, where the headquarters of the US military command for the Indo-Pacific is located – a region located between the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, covering countries such as Japan, Australia, Indonesia and the US itself.
Questioned by reporters at a press conference in Beijing, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the visit would represent a disrespect for Chinese territorial integrity.
“If the US really chooses to do so, China will take assertive and forceful measures to firmly defend its sovereignty,” Lijian said. “The US must be responsible for all the consequences that this entails.”
“Congress is part of the US government and must adhere to the US one-China policy. If Pelosi visits Taiwan, it would seriously violate that principle and send the wrong signal to separatist forces.”
The Financial Times says it has heard from three people familiar with the possible trip that there is no consensus in the administration on whether the timing is right and that the White House has expressed concern.
President Joe Biden has already made assertive statements about Taiwan. In May, he said the US would use force to defend the country if it were invaded by China and that Beijing was “flirting with danger” by threatening territory it considers a rebel province.
Beijing had already reacted to Pelosi’s possible trip in April. At the time, Chancellor Wang Yi said the US was crossing a red line. “A visit by Pelosi to Taiwan would be a malicious provocation against China’s sovereignty and interference in China’s internal affairs; it would send an extremely dangerous political signal to the outside world,” he said.
More recently, speaking with Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, the chancellor returned to talk about Washington’s stance on Taipei, according to reports by the official Xinhua news agency.
Beijing also criticized the trip by members of the European Parliament to the island this week. German MEP Nicola Beer, who leads the delegation, said on Tuesday that Taiwan’s democracy and freedom are a model for China, according to Portuguese public broadcaster RTP.
She defended that this would be the moment for the European Union (EU) to “take sides” of the island. “Taiwan is not going to be the next Hong Kong,” said Beer, who is staying in Taipei until Thursday (21).
Questioned, Chinese diplomacy said it opposes all official interactions between the EU and Taiwan. “Over the past two years, the European Parliament has enacted several Taiwan-related resolutions to encourage independence forces; these measures have poisoned the atmosphere of China-Europe relations.”
