Pelosi said in a statement that she is leading a congressional delegation to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan to discuss trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security and “democratic governance.” Pelosi has yet to confirm reports that she may visit Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against meddling in Beijing’s relations with the island in a phone call Thursday with his US counterpart, Joe Biden. Beijing sees formal US contact with Taiwan as an encouragement to make permanent its decades-old de facto independence, a step US leaders say they do not support. Pelosi, head of one of the three branches of the US government, would be the highest-ranking elected US official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. The Biden administration did not specifically urge Pelosi to avoid Taiwan, but sought to reassure Beijing that there was no reason for them to “come into conflict” and that if such a visit were to take place, it would not signal any change in US policy. “Under President Biden’s strong leadership, America is firmly committed to smart, strategic engagement in the region, understanding that a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific is vital to prosperity in our nation and around the world,” the statement said. of Pelosi. Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country, but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership. They have no formal relations, but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but maintains informal relations with the island. Washington is bound by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself. Washington’s “one China policy” says it does not take a position on the status of the two sides, but wants their dispute to be resolved peacefully. Beijing is promoting an alternative “one China principle” that says it is one country and the Communist Party is its leader. Members of Congress have publicly supported Pelosi’s interest in visiting Taiwan despite Chinese opposition. They want to avoid being seen as caving in to Beijing. Beijing has not detailed how it might react if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, but the Defense Department warned last week that the military would take “strong measures to prevent any outside interference.” The Foreign Office said “those who play with fire will perish by it”. The ruling party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, has flown increasing numbers of fighter jets and bombers around Taiwan to intimidate the island. “Multi-type fighter jets of the Air Force are flying around the precious island of the homeland, mitigating and strengthening the ability to maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” military spokesman Col. Shen Jinke said Sunday, referring to Taiwan. Pelosi said her delegation included U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mark Takano, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Suzan DelBene, vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee; Raja Krishnamoorthi, member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, and Andy Kim, member of the Armed Services Committees and Foreign Affairs of the Parliament. A visit to Taiwan would be a career milestone for Pelosi, who increasingly uses her position in Congress as the US envoy on the world stage. He has long challenged China on human rights and wanted to visit Taiwan earlier this year. In 1991, as a new member of Congress, Pelosi angered Chinese authorities by unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square in downtown Beijing honoring those killed when the Communist Party crushed pro-democracy protests two years earlier. “It’s important for us to show support for Taiwan,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters this month. But he had made it clear that he did not support changes in US policy. “None of us have ever said we are pro-independence when it comes to Taiwan,” he said. “That is for Taiwan to decide.” On Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tried to play down concerns. “There’s no reason for them to come to this, to come to blows,” Kirby said at the White House. “There is no reason for this because the US policy on One China has not changed.”
Mascaro reported from Washington.
