Nancy Pelosi defies China threats and lands in Taiwan
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Loading... - Anita Biwott
- 03 Aug 2022
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United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world's two superpowers soaring.
Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years and Beijing has made clear that it regards her presence as a major provocation, setting the region on edge.
Live television images showed the 82-year-old lawmaker, who flew on a US military aircraft into Taipei Songshan Airport, being greeted on arrival by foreign minister Joseph Wu.
Pelosi is currently on a tour of Asia and while neither she nor her office confirmed the Taipei visit, multiple US and Taiwanese media outlets reported it was on the cards -- triggering days of anger from Beijing.
Chinese warplanes take to skies
Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday shortly before the expected arrival in Taipei of Pelosi for a visit that has pushed friction between Washington and Beijing to a new level.
The Chinese leadership has repeatedly warned against Pelosi, a long-time critic of Beijing, making a trip to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
In the latest rhetorical salvo, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that US politicians who "play with fire" on the Taiwan issue will "come to no good end".
The United States said on Monday it would not be intimidated by what it called Chinese "sabre rattling".
Most of Pelosi's planned meetings, including with President Tsai Ing-wen, were scheduled for Wednesday, a person familiar with her itinerary said.
Four sources said she was scheduled on Wednesday afternoon to meet a group of activists who are outspoken about China's human rights record. Read More…
