Pelosi leaves Taiwan after visit, says U.S. will not abandon the island as China protests
The Hindu
Nancy Pelosi is the first U.S. speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit that heightened tensions with China, saying Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in her delegation showed they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island.
Ms. Pelosi, the first U.S. speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, courted Beijing's wrath with the visit and set off more than a week of debate over whether it was a good idea after news of it leaked. In Taipei, she remained calm but defiant.
“Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. “America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.”
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, announced multiple military exercises around the island, parts of which will enter Taiwanese waters, and issued a series of harsh statements after the delegation touched down Tuesday night in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.
Taiwan decried the planned actions, saying they violated the island's sovereignty.
“Such an act equals to sealing off Taiwan by air and sea, such an act covers our country’s territory and territorial waters, and severely violates our country’s territorial sovereignty,” Capt. Jian-chang Yu said at a briefing by the National Defense Ministry.
The Chinese military exercises, including live fire, are to start Thursday and 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 then-Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to the U.S.
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