Pelosi Arrives at Taipei, Defying Red China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Speaker Pelosi arrived at the capital of the Republic of China on Taiwan on Tuesday night, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island that is claimed by Beijing.“The United States is not going to be intimidated,” the White House National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, told CNN shortly after Ms. Pelosi’s arrival at Taipei.Communist China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, to be annexed by force if necessary, and views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island’s sovereignty.China had warned of “resolute and strong measures” if Ms. Pelosi went ahead with the trip, but has given no details. Speculation has centered on threatening military exercises and possible incursions by Chinese planes and ships into areas under Taiwanese control.The Biden administration did not explicitly urge her to call it off, while seeking to assure Beijing it would not signal any change in American policy on Taiwan.The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said Washington’s betrayal “on the Taiwan issue is bankrupting its national credibility.”“Some American politicians are playing with fire on the issue of Taiwan,” Mr. Wang said in a statement. “This will definitely not have a good outcome … the exposure of America’s bullying face again shows it as the world’s biggest saboteur of peace.”A plane carrying Ms. Pelosi and her delegation left Malaysia on Tuesday after a brief stop that included a working lunch with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Local media in Taiwan had reported that Ms. Pelosi would arrive on Tuesday night. The United Daily News, Liberty Times and China Times — Taiwan’s three largest national newspapers — cited unidentified sources as saying she would spend the night in Taiwan.Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment. Premier Su Tseng-chang said earlier Tuesday that “any foreign guests and friendly lawmakers” are “very much welcome.”Barricades were erected outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Taipei where Ms. Pelosi was expected to stay amid heightened security. Two buildings in the capital lit up LED displays with words of welcome, including the iconic Taipei 101 building, which said “Welcome to Taiwan, Speaker Pelosi.”“The U.S. and Taiwan have colluded to make provocations first, and China has only been compelled to act out of self-defense,” a Chinese foreign ministry representative, Hua Chunying, told reporters Tuesday at Beijing.The White House on Monday decried Beijing’s rhetoric, saying America has no interest in deepening tensions with China and “will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling.”Mr. Kirby stressed that the decision whether to visit Taiwan was ultimately Ms. Pelosi’s, noting that members of Congress have routinely visited the island over the years.Mr. Kirby said administration officials are concerned that Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory steps, including military action such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, or flying sorties into the island’s airspace and carrying out large-scale naval exercises in the strait.“Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” Mr. Kirby said.American officials previously said the American military would increase its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region in the event of Ms. Pelosi visiting Taiwan. The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group were in the Philippine Sea on Monday, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.The Reagan, the cruiser USS Antietam and the destroyer USS Higgins left Singapore after a port visit and moved north to their home port in Japan. The carrier has an array of aircraft, including F/A-18 fighter jets and helicopters, on board as well as sophisticated radar systems and other weapons.Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the communists won a civil war on the mainland. America maintains informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan even as it recognizes Beijing as the government of China.Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step American leaders say they don’t support. Ms. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. government, would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since Speaker Gingrich in 1997.

Pelosi Arrives at Taipei, Defying Red China

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