Update 14 Aug 2022: Fallout From Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip
Tsai Ing-wen's inglorious role in Pelosi's Taiwan show
Tsai Ing-wen listens during a press conference in Taipei, China's Taiwan, January 5, 2019 / CFP
On August 3, Tsai Ing-wen, the regional leader of Taiwan, awarded a medal "wholeheartedly" to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who just blatantly referred to Taiwan as a "democratic country" during her eye-catching Taiwan visit, for the latter's "firm and lasting support." Such a political farce illustrated how eager and desperate the secessionist politicians in Taiwan, represented by Tsai, are in seeking independence by clinging to the United States. Yet flattering and pandering can hardly help more than making Taiwan a filmset for irresponsible U.S. politicians to gain publicity, or a pawn to the U.S. for its ill-fated strategy to contain China.
On August 3, Tsai Ing-wen, the regional leader of Taiwan, awarded a medal "wholeheartedly" to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who just blatantly referred to Taiwan as a "democratic country" during her eye-catching Taiwan visit, for the latter's "firm and lasting support." Such a political farce illustrated how eager and desperate the secessionist politicians in Taiwan, represented by Tsai, are in seeking independence by clinging to the United States. Yet flattering and pandering can hardly help more than making Taiwan a filmset for irresponsible U.S. politicians to gain publicity, or a pawn to the U.S. for its ill-fated strategy to contain China.
There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. Any secessionist attempts to separate Taiwan from China is not only illegal, but also not allowed by 1.4 billion Chinese people, and thus doomed to fail. Somehow, such a status quo is often challenged by some U.S. politicians, who see China as a threat to the hegemony and priority of the U.S. due to China's impressive development in recent decades, and they regard the Taiwan question as a convenient instrument to disrupt China's rejuvenation by challenging its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Meanwhile, they also wish to squeeze as much resource as possible from the authority in Taiwan, in order to "make the U.S. great again." Politicians like Pelosi care more about interests flowing into their own pockets with massive purchase orders of U.S. military equipment and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) contribution to the U.S. semi-conductor industry, as well as the votes they may gain from their constituents for "challenging China," rather than the commitment made by the U.S. in 1979 of not seeking official relations with Taiwan in the China-U.S. joint communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. What they choose to neglect is the actual welfare of 23 million people living on Taiwan Island, and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. With a flip-flopping attitude toward its commitment to the one-China policy, it is likely to be a game for the U.S. to "win and take all."
"Who Cares?": Nancy Pelosi Laughs Off Chinese Sanctions Over Taiwan
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that China is trying to establish sort of a new normal and we just can't let that happen
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday the United States could not allow China to normalize the new level of pressure on Taiwan it asserted with days of military drills following her visit to the Chinese-claimed island. "What we saw with China is that they were trying to establish sort of a new normal. And we just can't let that happen," Pelosi told a news conference with four other Democratic House members who accompanied her on the trip to Asia.
China said on Wednesday it had "completed various tasks" around Taiwan, but will continue regular patrols, potentially signaling an end to days of war games while keeping up pressure on the self-ruled island. Furious at the visit to Taipei last week by Pelosi, a vocal critic of China for decades who stands second in line of succession for the U.S. presidency, China had extended its largest-ever exercises around the self-ruled island it claims as its own beyond the four days originally scheduled.
"We went there to praise Taiwan. We went there to show our friendship, to say China cannot isolate Taiwan," Pelosi said. She laughed when asked about China's announcement that it was sanctioning her and her immediate family. "Who cares?" Pelosi said. "That is incidental to me, of no relevance whatsoever."
Taiwan has lost ground because of Pelosi's visit
China's People's Liberation Army launches missiles toward Taiwan on Aug. 4: Plans for these exercises needed some sort of provocation. (Handout photo form PLA's Eastern Theater Command) © Reuters
Plans for these exercises, which clearly had been prepared and on the shelf for some time, needed some sort of provocation to justify putting them into action. Pelosi's poorly conceived stopover provided exactly this. During the initial four days of PLA live-fire exercises in six areas around Taiwan's perimeter, 41 Chinese vessels and 110 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the island's defense ministry. Eleven ballistic missiles were fired into waters north, east and south of Taiwan. The drills were due to end on Aug. 7, but the next day, the PLA announced it would continue to conduct live-fire combat joint exercises and training in the waters and airspace around Taiwan before finally calling them to an end on Aug. 10.
The exercises serve valuable military purposes for the PLA: increasing preparedness, improving interoperability among air and sea forces and providing lessons for future operations across the Taiwan Strait. They also serve a strategic purpose by effectively obliterating the median line across the Taiwan Strait that served as an unofficial buffer zone between the two militaries for decades. The status quo has been altered and in a way unfavorable to Taiwan. It is quite likely that the PLA will now operate with greater frequency and intensity across the median line. This will impose continued stress on Taiwan's military readiness and preparedness and put sustained psychological pressure on Taiwan's leadership and civilian population.
As Pelosi’s Taiwan visit rocks US-China ties, worse may be in store
US-China relations are at their lowest point in half a century but worse may be in store before a reset seems possible, diplomatic observers said.
This comes as tensions continue to escalate over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a violation of its sovereignty, with neither side wanting to be seen as backing down. Beijing, which repeatedly warned against the visit, has responded with severe condemnation and days of live-fire drills around Taiwan, including dozens of incursions over the median line in the Taiwan Strait, a de facto boundary that it had hitherto honoured.
Washington, meanwhile, has pledged to continue Taiwan Strait transits and freedom of navigation operations in the region, where it has prolonged the deployment of its USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group.
related:
US urged to stop attempting to contain China with Taiwan
China will resolutely make a fightback each time the United States makes a serious provocation that encroaches upon China's sovereignty and interferes in China's internal affairs, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. "China will never allow its national sovereignty and territorial integrity to be wantonly trampled upon and undermined," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing, urging the United States to stop its attempt to contain China by using Taiwan.
Wang pointed out Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region is a major political provocation which upgrades exchanges between the United States and Taiwan. Pelosi's visit violated relevant commitments by the U.S. side in the China-U.S. Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, the one-China principle widely accepted by the international community and confirmed in the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, and the principle in international law of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, which is enshrined in the UN Charter, he said.
Disregarding China's dissuasion and warnings concerning Pelosi's visit, the United States has chosen to pursue the wrong course of action, Wang said, noting that it is the United States, not China, who has reneged on commitments. "It is the United States that infringed upon China's sovereignty, not China violating the sovereignty of the United States. It is the United States who connived at and supported 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities, not China conniving at and supporting separatist activities in the United States," Wang added.
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China releases white paper on Taiwan question, reunification in new era
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China published a white paper titled "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era" on Wednesday.
The white paper was released to reiterate the fact that Taiwan is part of China, to demonstrate the resolve of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people and their commitment to national reunification, and to emphasize the position and policies of the CPC and the Chinese government in the new era. Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times. This statement has a sound basis in history and jurisprudence, according to the white paper. The UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 is a political document encapsulating the one-China principle whose legal authority leaves no room for doubt and has been acknowledged worldwide, says the white paper.
The one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community; it is consistent with the basic norms of international relations, says the white paper. "We are one China, and Taiwan is part of China. This is an indisputable fact supported by history and the law. Taiwan has never been a state; its status as part of China is unalterable," says the white paper.
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves Taiwan after controversial visit
China said the visit was a "dangerous and stupid" move, as it announced new economic measures and other sanctions against the island.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that needs to be retaken, by force if necessary.
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U.S.-China tensions flare as Pelosi leaves Taiwan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of her congressional delegation board a plane to leave Taiwan on Aug. 3, after a visit that enraged the Chinese government. (Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
China escalated its rhetoric while U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan on Wednesday, calling her trip “very dangerous and stupid” and blasting the Biden administration for not stopping it.
“The U.S. government had the responsibility to prevent her trip. Yet they say one thing and do another. They have no integrity at all,” the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said Wednesday in a front-page editorial.
Pelosi defended her trip during a news conference Wednesday, arguing that there is “a struggle between autocracy and democracy in the world” and that one of the purposes of the trip was “to show the world the success of the people of Taiwan, the courage to change their own country, to become more democratic.” She described Taiwan as a “model in this region,” adding that it “offers a very strong contrast to what’s happening in mainland China.” She said her visit “opens the door” to better economic exchanges and that several large Taiwanese companies already plan to invest in manufacturing in the United States.
Pelosi Leaves Taiwan, but Tensions Rise in Her Wake
The House speaker’s trip was celebrated on the island, but China warned of repercussions as it prepared for live-fire drills that would mark a direct challenge to Taiwan’s maritime claims.
In her wake, she left a crisis, setting the stage for new brinkmanship between China and the United States over power and influence in Asia. Taiwan is now bracing for Beijing to begin live-fire military drills on Thursday, an escalation without recent precedent. During the drills, Chinese forces are expected to encircle the island, dropping missiles into seas only 10 miles from its coast.
“Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” Ms. Pelosi said during a meeting with Taiwan’s president. “America’s determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains ironclad.” The meetings, though light on substance, were widely welcomed in Taiwan as a symbolic victory. Ms. Pelosi’s trip was a rare moment when a major foreign power publicly showed support for the island in the face of vehement opposition from China. Ms. Pelosi made the trip despite discouragement from President Biden, and was the highest-ranking member of the United States government to visit the island in 25 years.
Pelosi’s ‘reckless’ Taiwan visit deepens US-China rupture – why did she go?
Nancy Pelosi in Tokyo following her visit to Taiwan. Her visit may have hurt the very cause she was seeking to promote. Photograph: Franck Robichon / EPA
The speaker insisted she was promoting democracy but critics suggest a last hurrah before she loses the gavel in November. Roy Blunt lived up to his surname when he said this week: “So I’m about to use four words in a row that I haven’t used in this way before, and those four words are: ‘Speaker Pelosi was right.’” The Republican senator was praising Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the first by a speaker of the US House of Representatives in a quarter of a century.
But not everyone was so sure. In poking the hornets’ nest and enraging China, which claims the self-governing island as its territory, Pelosi deepened a rupture between the world’s two most powerful countries – and may have hurt the very cause she was seeking to promote. On Thursday, China fired multiple missiles into waters surrounding Taiwan and began a series of huge military drills around the island; the White House summoned China’s ambassador, Qin Gang, to protest. On Friday, China said it was ending cooperation with the US on key issues including the climate crisis, anti-drug efforts and military talks.
It was yet another moment of peril in a world already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and mass food shortages. So why did Pelosi go? The speaker is a fervent defender of Taiwan and critic of China’s human rights abuses. During the visit, she pointed to a global struggle between autocracy and democracy, a favourite theme of Joe Biden’s, and told reporters in Taipei: “We cannot back away from that.”
Pelosi says US will 'not abandon' Taiwan as China begins military drills
Pelosi attends a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai at the presidential office in Taipei, August 3, 2022
China responded to Pelosi's trip launching military exercises, which China's Ministry of Defense said began on Wednesday with drills in both the seas and airspace surrounding Taiwan. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said 27 Chinese warplanes made incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, and 22 planes crossed the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday -- an unprecedented number since Taiwan began publicly releasing information about China's air incursions about two years ago.
As the California Democrat departed the island on Wednesday afternoon for South Korea, there were already signs of the strains her visit to Taipei -- the first by a sitting US House speaker in 25 years -- had placed on Washington's relationship with Beijing -- which warned that her trip would have a "severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations."
China's ruling Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it, and has long vowed to "reunify" the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary. Pelosi's praise of the island's commitment to democracy was a significant show of support for Taipei, coming just hours after China threatened to retaliate to her presence with a series of military exercises the Taiwanese Defense Ministry likened to a "maritime and aerial blockade."
Pelosi Leaves Taiwan With the Island—and World—in a More Precarious Position
As for what Pelosi leaves behind, we can only wait and watch. A furious Beijing—which considers the self-ruling island its sovereign territory and fiercely opposed her trip—has announced four days of live-fire drills and missile tests beginning on Thursday that encircle Taiwan, some less than 10 miles from its coast. The unprecedented drills are the largest in recent memory and will no doubt impede commercial shipping and flights to the island. On top of that, China summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Beijing for a dressing down and suspended Taiwanese imports of citrus fruit and horse mackerel as well as exports of sand—vital for the construction industry—to the island. A massive cyber-attack that researchers linked to Chinese “hacktivists” also briefly downed Taiwan’s presidential office website.
Still, Pelosi was unapologetic. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she told reporters. “America’s determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains ironclad.” For the islanders, the visit has been divisive. On one side of Taiwan’s legislative building, a group supporting Pelosi held up banners welcoming her to the “Republic of Taiwan,” in a nod to their aspirations of formal independence. Across the way, pro-Beijing demonstrators held up placards denouncing the 82-year-old as an “arsonist” meddling in China’s internal affairs. Still, it’s notable that even senior figures in the opposition Nationalist Party—which opposes formal independence and favors stronger ties across the Strait—including party chairman Eric Chu and former President Ma Ying-jeou voiced support for Pelosi’s visit.
As Nancy Pelosi leaves Taiwan, China reacts by sending aircraft to buzz the Taiwan Strait, with many crossing the median line
Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan but repercussions from her visit are just starting to be felt.(Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP.)
After becoming the first US speaker to visit Taiwan in more than 25 years, Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday with a message of support, but not long after, China made good on its threat to escalate tensions. Ms Pelosi finished her visit by assuring Taiwan of US support, but her visit had already courted Beijing's wrath.
That wrath was shown later on Wednesday as Chinese military aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait in an escalation of military activities, mere hours after Ms Pelosi left Taiwan. Twenty-seven aircraft buzzed the Taiwan Strait, with 22 crossing the median line.
Neither side's aircraft normally cross the median line, which runs through the middle of the Taiwan Strait. The latest Chinese mission included 16 Chinese Su-30 fighters and 11 other jets, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said. In response, Taiwan's military said it scrambled jets to warn off the Chinese aircraft.
Pelosi gives strong backing to Taiwan's democracy; US braces for Chinese military drills
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted strong support for Taiwan as she wrapped her visit Wednesday, while China announced it would conduct live-fire military drills in response to her controversial trip to the self-governed island.
Pelosi, who met with Taiwan's top leaders then departed, addressed threats from Beijing, saying she hopes it’s clear that while China has prevented Taiwan from attending certain international meetings, "that they understand they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan as a show of friendship and of support.” “Our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as a strong statement that America stands with Taiwan," Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday. "We came to Taiwan to listen to, learn from and show our support for the people of Taiwan, who have built a thriving democracy that stands as one of the freest and most open in the world."
During a short speech in a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Pelosi said she and other members of the U.S. congressional delegation would uphold their commitment to the self-governing island. “Today, the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said. “America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.” Taiwan denounced China's planned drills, saying they violate its sovereignty and equate to the "sealing off" of the island "by air and sea."
Taiwan scrambles jets as 22 Chinese fighters cross Taiwan Strait median line
In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese People's Liberation Army J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location. (File photo: Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)
Taiwan scrambled jets on Wednesday (Aug 3) to warn away 27 Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone, the island's defence ministry said, adding that 22 of them crossed the median line separating the self-ruled island from China amid rising tensions.
China demonstrated its outrage over the highest-level US visit to the island in 25 years by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a burst of military drills around Taiwan, summoning the American ambassador in Beijing and halting several agricultural imports from the island. In the latest uptick in tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait, Taiwan said it dispatched aircraft and deployed missile systems to "monitor" the Chinese activities into its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years of repeated missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of ADIZ. The latest Chinese mission included 16 Chinese Su-30 fighters and 11 other jets, Taiwan's defence ministry said. A source familiar with Taiwan's security planning told Reuters that the 22 jets that crossed the median line did not fly too far into the unofficial buffer from the Chinese side. Neither side's aircraft normally cross the median line.
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Pelosi message to Beijing
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Taiwan is flourishing democracy. It has proven to world that hope, courage & determination can build peaceful & prosperous future despite challenges it faces. Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, that's the message we bring in today.
Pelosi addresses in Taiwan Parliament
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her delegation on Tuesday night arrived in Taiwan for a visit that erupted high voltage drama between the United States and China. Beijing had warned that Washington would pay the price if Pelosi went to Taiwan. However, she said her trip “in no way" contradicted official US policy, which recognises “one China" and has not officially recognised Taiwan as an independent state.
Nancy Pelosi meets Taiwan President
US house of representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi reached Taiwan's Taipei on Tuesday, even as repeated warnings by China against the visit raised tensions between US and China.
China weighs options after Pelosi visit
In response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China "wants to punish somebody," says Michael Pillsbury, the Hudson Institute director for China strategy.
Beijing has warned against Pelosi visit
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday in an unannounced visit that comes despite strong warnings of repercussions from China. She is the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
In a statement, the 82-year-old lawmaker said the US delegation's visit to the self-governed island "honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy."
Pelosi's arrival sparked swift criticism from Beijing, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying China will "take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity." Foreign Minister Wang Yi said US politicians who "play with fire" on the Taiwan issue will "come to no good end." Beijing considers Taiwan to be a renegade province of China.
China’s military launches air and sea exercises near Taiwan amid Pelosi’s visit
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
Pelosi traveled to the island in the face of warnings from both the Biden administration and China, which reacted strongly after the House speaker’s congressional delegation touched down in Taipei.
China’s Foreign Ministry charged that Pelosi’s visit “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Pelosi said in a statement that her visit to Taiwan “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.”
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan sparks immediate reaction from China
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan Tuesday after days of speculation about her visit, prompting an immediate response from China. Pelosi's late-night landing was quickly followed by news of Chinese military drills all around the island. John Yang reports.
Explainer: Why Pelosi Went to Taiwan, and Why China's Angry
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right, is greeted by Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as she arrives in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 2, 2022. (Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP)
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew into Taiwan on an Air Force passenger jet Tuesday, she became the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island. China announced military maneuvers in retaliation, even as Taiwanese officials welcomed her and she headed to her hotel.
The reason her visit ratcheted up tension between China and the United States: China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and it views visits by foreign government officials as them recognizing the island's sovereignty.
President Joe Biden has sought to calm that complaint, insisting there's no change in America's longstanding "one-China policy," which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. Pelosi portrays her high-profile trip as part of a U.S. obligation to stand with democracies against autocratic countries, and with democratic Taiwan against China.
Pelosi’s Taiwan agenda threatens to further rattle China
Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan’s legislature in Taipei, the capital, on Wednesday.Credit...Ann Wang/Reuters
Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, Wednesday morning, with a scheduled series of high-profile meetings setting the stage for further tensions with China.
After meeting with lawmakers, Ms. Pelosi met with Ms. Tsai at the presidential office in central Taipei. Departing from the secrecy ahead of the visit, the meeting between the two was broadcast live. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” Ms. Pelosi said. “America’s determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains ironclad.” In what is likely to be considered an affront in China, Ms. Pelosi is also expected to hold discussions with a number of human rights leaders on Wednesday afternoon, before she departs.
The response from China has been grave. Shortly after her plane touched down in Taipei, the capital, Chinese diplomats declared that the visit “seriously undermines” China’s sovereignty and China-U.S. relations. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party said any attempt to seek independence by Taiwan would be “shattered by the powerful force of the Chinese people.” Beijing quickly imposed a series of punitive economic moves, including suspending exports of natural sand to Taiwan. And China’s military announced live-fire drills in areas that appear to infringe on Taiwan’s territorial waters, with a state news agency warning ships and aircraft away for “safety reasons.”
Taiwan: Nancy Pelosi meets President Tsai to Beijing's fury
Ms Pelosi earlier today met with Taiwan Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tsai Chi-Chang
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in a visit that has been strongly condemned by China. Ms Pelosi, the most senior US politician in 25 years to visit Taiwan, said her delegation had come to make it "unequivocally clear" that the US would not "abandon" the island.
China had earlier said the US would "pay the price" for Ms Pelosi's visit. Taiwan is self-ruled, but China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually unite with it. "Forty three years ago, America made a promise to always stand with Taiwan... today our delegation came to Taiwan to make it unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan," Ms Pelosi said, referring to the Taiwan Relations Act.
Taiwan has become yet another flashpoint amid heightened tensions and sharp rhetoric between Washington and Beijing in recent years, with the US walking a diplomatic tightrope on the issue. The US abides by the "One China" policy - a cornerstone of the two countries' diplomatic relationship which recognises only one Chinese government - and has formal ties with Beijing and not Taiwan. But it also maintains a "robust unofficial" relationship with the island. That includes selling weapons for Taiwan to defend itself. Ms Pelosi's visit is viewed by Beijing as yet another sign of support for Taiwan.
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Pelosi arrives in Taiwan vowing U.S. commitment; China enraged
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu welcomes U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Taipei
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday on a trip she said shows an unwavering American commitment to the Chinese-claimed self-ruled island, but China condemned the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Pelosi and the rest of her delegation disembarked from a U.S. Air Force transport plane at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei after the nighttime landing on a flight from Malaysia to begin a visit that risks pushing U.S.-Chinese relations to a new low. They were greeted by Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu, and Sandra Oudkirk, the top U.S. representative in Taiwan.
Her arrival prompted a furious response from China at a time when international tensions already are elevated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control. The United States warned China against using the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan. "Our congressional delegation's visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy," Pelosi said in a statement shortly after landing. "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy."
Latest News on Nancy Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei.ANNABELLE CHIH/GETTY IMAGES
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. official in a quarter-century to visit Taiwan, on Wednesday met with President Tsai Ing-wen and legislators in the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Mrs. Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday, defying stern warnings from Beijing against a visit that China’s Communist Party regards as a challenge to its sovereignty.
Chinese officials, including leader Xi Jinping in a phone call last week with President Biden, have warned of unspecified countermeasures for Mrs. Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
Pelosi Taiwan visit adds new risk to equity markets
US equities were lower in fairly choppy Tuesday trading, finishing just off worst levels. Stocks slumped on Tuesday as investors weighed increased tensions between the US and China.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranked American official to visit the self-ruled island that is claimed by China in 25 years. Her arrival set up a high-stakes standoff between the US and China.- we’ll wait and see the outcomes - buts its another risk to markets that have been unexpected
Asian markets have been weaker in anticipation of the visit. Stocks wavered early in the afternoon, reacting to multiple comments from regional Fed presidents who all threw cold water on the idea that the central bank will be done raising rates or move them lower anytime soon.
Pelosi Rocks the Boat
Pelosi rocks the boat. The Speaker of the House is about to set foot on Taiwanese soil to meet the president (tomorrow) and it’s very much against the will of China. Taiwan is a self-governing island but China considers it part of its territory. High-level meetings like these are viewed as supportive of Taiwan’s independence and meddling with internal matters. China repeatedly warned the US not to make the same mistake it did 25 years ago by sending then-Speaker Newt Gingrich on a similar visit. China threatened with “disastrous consequences” without detailing what those measures could be. It did ratchet up military activity around Taiwan in the meantime while the Taiwan president website underwent cyber-attacks this afternoon.
The geopolitical saga got another angle after Russia sided with its southern neighbour, calling Pelosi’s trip provocative. It’s keeping markets on edge. European and US stocks drop 0.5 to 1%. Both US Treasuries and German Bunds attracted safe haven flows but the tide turned for the better as US dealers started joining. US yields cut their losses that went as high as 5 bps and now trade 1.8 to 7.9 bps higher in a flattener. The turnaround also helps support at 2.55% in the 10y yield survive. German yields were down almost 8 bps but bottomed out in lockstep with the US. Current moves vary between +2 bps (5y) to flat (30y).
Here too an important reference that was tested earlier (0.73% for the 10y yield) survives the day. EMU swap rates in quite a sharp countermove reverse 5.1 bps losses to 1.7-5.2 bps gains. Despite the sudden intraday U-turn, short-term money markets continue to have ever more doubts on the ECB’s tightening intentions. The expected terminal rate today is less than half (<1.25% early 2023) of what was expected at the top in market pricing mid-June. It’s unclear to us how this can ever dovetail with the ECB’s own expectations of inflation next year averaging at an above-target 3.5% but it’s happening anyway.
Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense
A helicopter flies a Taiwanese flag in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is an island separated from China by the Taiwan Strait. It has been governed independently of mainland China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), since 1949. The PRC views the island as a renegade province and vows to eventually “unify” Taiwan with the mainland. In Taiwan, which has its own democratically elected government and is home to twenty-three million people, political leaders have differing views on the island’s status and relations with the mainland.
Cross-strait tensions have escalated since the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Tsai has refused to accept a formula that her predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, endorsed to allow for increased cross-strait ties. Meanwhile, Beijing has taken increasingly aggressive actions, including by flying fighter jets near the island. Some analysts fear a Chinese attack on Taiwan has the potential to draw the United States into a war with China. Is Taiwan part of China? Beijing asserts that there is only “one China” and that Taiwan is part of it. It views the PRC as the only legitimate government of China, an approach it calls the One-China principle, and seeks Taiwan’s eventual “unification” with the mainland.
Beijing claims that Taiwan is bound by an understanding known as the 1992 Consensus, which was reached between representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) party that then ruled Taiwan. However, the two sides don’t agree on the content of this so-called consensus, and it was never intended to address the question of Taiwan’s legal status. For the PRC, as Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated, the 1992 Consensus reflects an agreement that “the two sides of the strait belong to one China and would work together to seek national reunification.” For the KMT, it means “one China, different interpretations,” with the ROC standing as the “one China.”
