Pelosi, the first US speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, angered Beijing with the visit and set off more than a week of debate over whether it was a good idea after the news leaked. In Taipei she remained calm but defiant. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said in a brief speech during a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. “America’s resolve to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.” Pelosi arrived at a military base in South Korea on Wednesday afternoon ahead of meetings with political leaders in Seoul, after which she will visit Japan. Both countries are alliance partners of the US, together hosting about 80,000 US personnel as a bulwark against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and China’s increased assertiveness in the South China and East China seas. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any involvement of Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, has announced multiple military exercises around the island, parts of which will enter Taiwanese waters, and issued a series of tough statements after the delegation contact Tuesday night in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. Taiwan denounced the planned actions, saying they violated the island’s sovereignty. “Such an act is equivalent to sealing off Taiwan from air and sea, such an act covers our country’s land and territorial waters and seriously violates our country’s territorial sovereignty,” said Captain Jian-chang Yu in a briefing from the Ministry National Defense. Chinese military drills, including live fire, will begin on Thursday and will be the largest aimed at Taiwan since 1995, when China fired missiles in a large-scale exercise to show its displeasure at a visit by its then president Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui in the USA Taiwan President Tsai responded strongly on Wednesday to Beijing’s military intimidation. “In the face of deliberately increased military threats, Taiwan will not back down,” Tsai said in her meeting with Pelosi. “We will steadfastly support our nation’s sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy.” In Washington, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Wednesday that the United States expects more military exercises and other actions from China in the coming days as the country’s armed forces “flex their muscles.” However, “we don’t think we’re on the brink now, and there’s certainly no reason to talk about being on the brink in the future,” Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” China’s official Xinhua news agency announced the military actions on Tuesday night, along with a map outlining six different areas around Taiwan. Arthur Zhin-Sheng Wang, a defense studies expert at Taiwan’s Central Police University, said three of the sites violate Taiwan’s waters, meaning they are within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of the coast. Using live fire in a country’s territorial airspace or waters is dangerous, Wang said, adding that “according to international rules of engagement, this can potentially be considered an act of war.” Pelosi’s trip has raised US-China tensions more than visits by other members of Congress because of her high-profile position as leader of the House of Representatives. She is the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years since Newt Gingrich in 1997. However, other members of Congress have visited Taiwan in the past year. Tsai, thanking Pelosi for her decades of support for Taiwan, presented the speaker with a political honor, the Order of Favorable Clouds. China’s response has been resounding and has come on multiple fronts: diplomatic, economic and military. Shortly after Pelosi landed on Tuesday night, China announced live-fire drills that reportedly began that night, as well as four days of exercises starting Thursday. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force also flew a group of 21 warplanes, including fighter jets, to Taiwan. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng also called the US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, to convey the country’s protests that same evening. On Wednesday, China also banned some imports from Taiwan, including citrus fruits and fish. China’s state broadcaster CCTV released images of PLA exercises on Wednesday, although it was unclear where they were taking place. On Wednesday night, China flew an additional 27 fighter jets to Taiwan. CCTV also reported that a Taiwanese citizen was arrested on suspicion of inciting separatism. Yang Chih-yuan, originally from Taichung city, was seen surrounded by police in a CCTV video. Yang was running for a legislative seat in New Taipei, according to local media. Pelosi responded to Beijing’s threats on Wednesday morning, saying she hoped it was clear that while China has blocked Taiwan from participating in some international meetings, “that they understand that they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan as a sign of friendship and support”. He noted that support for Taiwan is bipartisan in Congress and praised the island’s democracy. He stopped short of saying the US would defend Taiwan militarily, stressing that Congress is “committed to Taiwan’s security so that Taiwan can defend itself more effectively.” Her focus has always been the same, she said, going back to her 1991 visit to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, when she and other lawmakers unfurled a small pro-democracy banner two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters in the square. This visit was also about human rights and dangerous technology transfers to “rogue countries”. Pelosi visited a human rights museum in Taipei detailing the island’s martial law-era history and met with some of Taiwan’s most prominent rights activists, including an exiled former Hong Kong bookseller who was arrested by Chinese authorities , Lam Wing-ki. Pelosi, who is leading the trip with five other members of Congress, also met with representatives from Taiwan’s legislature. “The lady president’s visit to Taiwan with the delegation, without fear, is the strongest defense of the defense of human rights and the consolidation of the values of democracy and freedom,” Tsai Chi-chang, vice president of Taiwan’s legislature, said in a welcome speech. . US President Joe Biden’s administration has tried to play down the scale of the visit, insisting there is no change to America’s long-standing “one China policy”, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. Pelosi said her delegation has “stepped up,” including Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Raja Krishnamurthy of the House Intelligence Committee. Also on the mission are representatives Andy Kim and Mark Takano. He also mentioned Rep. Suzan DelBene, who Pelosi said was instrumental in passing a $280 billion bill aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing and research into semiconductor chips — an industry dominated by Taiwan and vital to the modern electronics. Pelosi’s Asia tour also included stops in Singapore and Malaysia.
