WORLD NEWS—On Friday, July 29, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to leave for an unwelcome visit to Taiwan.
Reports indicate that the spokesperson for the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhao Lijian, has strongly discouraged Pelosi’s visit.
“The Chinese side has made it clear on many occasions that it is firmly opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. We are fully prepared, If the U.S. goes its own way, China will certainly take firm and forceful measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the United States should be held responsible for any serious consequence,” Lijian stated.
On Monday, July 25, air raid drills sounded in Taipei, Taiwan for thirty minutes. The streets were emptied in the air-raid exercise. The people of Taiwan received a text informing them all to evacuate. Sirens began at 1:30 p.m. (530 GMT).
North Taiwan was completely shut down in an exercise that prepares the Taiwanese for Chinese attack. The air-raid drill came approximately a week after Speaker Pelosi’s unwelcome visit to an island in Taiwan.
This area has remained sovereign territory despite rising tensions between Taiwan and China. Pelosi did not heed the warning.
On July 21, in her weekly press conference, Pelosi was questioned by the media about her trip. The following interaction came directly from Speaker Pelosi’s webpage.
Media Question- “Madam Speaker, the President said yesterday the U.S. military does not think it’s a good idea for you to visit Taiwan. You visited Ukraine. Obviously, that was important to show your support. Would such a concern on the part of the U.S. military deter you from going” –
Speaker Pelosi- “I don’t ever discuss my travel plans. It’s a national – it’s a security issue. You never even hear me say if I’m going to London, because it is a security issue. And so, I won’t be discussing that now. “
Media Question- “What is the most important thing that we can do to deter China from attacking Taiwan?”
Speaker Pelosi- “That is a very major issue. And it is – if you want to have a discussion about that, I think that it’s important for us to show support for Taiwan. I also think that we have – none of us has ever said we’re for independence when it comes to Taiwan. That’s up to Taiwan to decide”.
Speaker Pelosi- “But if what you’re – the inference to draw from your comment is that my going there is problematic. I think what the President was saying is the – maybe the military was afraid our plane would get shot down or something like that by the Chinese. I don’t know exactly. I didn’t see it. I didn’t hear it. You’re telling me, and I’ve heard it anecdotally, but I haven’t heard it from the President”.
Pelosi’s visit follows a bipartisan visit to the island earlier in the year including Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Richard Burr (R-NC), Rob Portman (R-OH), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX).
