U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Visits Taiwan

By Qing Cao

On August 2-3, 2022, the 52nd U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, led a visiting delegation of House members to Taiwan. It was the highest-level visit to Taiwan by a U.S. official in 25 years. The visit is seen as having the potential to spark a new crisis in Asia and will also likely worsen the U.S.-China relations. 

Pelosi led a congressional delegation to Asia including countries such as South Korea and Japan. Although Taiwan was not on her itinerary, China remained opposed to the whole affair. China has always claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, and the issue has received attention since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took office in 2012. Xi Jinping has called for the reunification of Taiwan as part of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (2022) announced that any attempt to seek Taiwan's independence will be “crushed by the strong force of the Chinese people in opposing 'independence' and promoting reunification”. Following Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan, Col Shi Yi, the spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command said “starting from the evening of August 2, the Eastern Theater Command will carry out a series of joint military operations around Taiwan Island, and conduct joint air and sea exercises in the sea and air spaces of the northern, southwestern and south-eastern Taiwan Island, conduct long-range live ammunition firing in the Taiwan Strait, and organize regular-guided-fire testing in the eastern waters of Taiwan Island” (CNN, 2022) Obviously, this action is a stern deterrent to the U.S. side and a serious warning to the 'Taiwan independence' forces.

Despite a series of objections and threatening remarks, Pelosi arrived in Taipei on August 2, 2022, on a U.S. military aircraft. This action sparked outrage in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned Pelosi's "playing with fire"; the People's Liberation Army issued a statement that it would conduct a series of joint air and naval exercises, and the people of Taiwan gathered in the streets to demonstrate their strong dissatisfaction with Pelosi's trip. This series of actions not only warned Pelosi of the violation of sovereignty but also made clear their position that Taiwan is an integral part of China. Pelosi was received in Taiwan by Taiwan's Foreign Minister Wu Chiu-sup. After arriving safely in Taiwan, she declared on Twitter, "Our delegation's visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant Democracy ". 

On August 3, Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen received Pelosi's delegation and expressed Taiwan's commitment to maintaining cross-strait development. She believed that the congresswoman came to visit Taiwan as an act of friendly relations and that the military decree of mainland China is an unnecessary reaction. Pelosi, for her part, stressed that the purpose of the U.S. visit was the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act by Congress 43 years ago and that the U.S. wanted to stand with Taiwan and promote a prosperous partnership. Such a situation would be materially destructive to both the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China and the relationship between China and the United States.

This is not the first time that the United States has intervened in the internal affairs of China. The Taiwan Relations Act was signed by President Jimmy Carter on April 10, 1979. This Act (1979) was an attempt to preserve the relationship between the United States and Taiwan and was therefore strongly opposed by the Chinese government and people. Through this agreement, the U.S. government sold military weapons to Taiwan and obstructed the territorial reunification that the Chinese government had been insisting on. In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which saw an increase in visits to Taiwan by U.S. officials. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was not the first time the Speaker of the U.S. The House of Representatives has visited Taiwan. In 1997, Newt Gingrich visited Taipei and was similarly criticized by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In that year, China took no action other than rhetoric. Today,  China has been growing at a rapid pace, and is more likely to want to demonstrate its power at the sign of any threat to its aspirations of unity.

There is a lot of coverage and analysis of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Obviously, this is a globally visible event and visits to other countries in East Asia, whilst outside the scope of this article, are also worthy of further research. First, it is also worth paying  attention to the views of various countries. For example, the United States National Security Council  Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that “China has chosen to overreact and use the speaker's visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait” so “there's no reason for this manufactured crisis to exist“ (Kyle, 2022). However, the Chinese government strongly condemns the U.S. side's actions. Prior to this, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had said in a conference call that the U.S. would abide by the one-China principle which stands that “the United States recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China but only acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China” (Green, 2017). If the US insists on allowing Pelosi to visit Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, it is "playing with fire" and this visit is a disregard for the one-China principle and a provocation to China. So not only the Chinese government, but internet users in China are also very angry at the U.S. approach, while also unhappy with the military threats that China has made but did not follow through with. 

The Chinese government had to appeal to its citizens to be sensible and patriotic and to trust the government. According to The Russian News Agency TASS, Russia has also weighed in on the matter, saying that they view this as “a clear provocation, which is in line with the United States' aggressive policy aimed at comprehensively containing China”(TASS, 2022). Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The foreign minister expressed Bahrain's interest in developing joint friendly relations with China and its wishes for peace and security to prevail in the Chinese territories and Asian countries, stressing the kingdom's firm stance on the One China Policy” (Kyle, 2022). It is clear to conclude that different countries hold different positions due to their political policy. America supported such behavior but China and its allied countries such as Russia have chosen to condemn the antagonistic behavior of the U.S. It is undeniable that Pelosi's visit has directly led to the deterioration of the U.S.-China relationship, and more information about other politicians' or countries’ opinions is good for researching the diplomatic relationship and policies between each country.

Overall, Pelosi's action indeed brought the U.S.-China relation to a freezing point. I think this is also worthy of more research because the US visit to East Asia is an important diplomatic matter, especially after the visit to Taiwan. What kind of attitude other East Asian countries will take towards Pelosi is also worth studying because this can reflect not only the attitude of other East Asian countries towards Pelosi and the United States, but also their attitude towards China.

References

“A Momentous Occasion: A Look Back at President Carter's 1979 Decision to Normalize Relations with China.” The Carter Center, January 9, 2019. https://www.cartercenter.org/news/features/p/china/40-anniversary-china-relations.html. 

“China Gears up for Military Drills after Pelosi Visit to Taiwan.” The Tattlers, August 3, 2022.https://thetattlers.com/china-gears-up-for-military-drills-after-pelosi-visit-to-taiwan/. 

Congress.gov. "H.R.2479 - 96th Congress (1979-1980): Taiwan Relations Act." April 10,         1979. https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/2479.

Green, Michael J. “What Is the U.S. ‘One China’ Policy, and Why Does It Matter?” What Is the U.S. "One China" Policy, and Why Does it Matter? | Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 13, 2017. https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-us-one-china-policy-and-why-does-it-matter. 

Fitzgerald, Kyle. “China 'Has Chosen to Overreact' to Pelosi's Trip to Taiwan, White House Says.” The National. The National, August 4, 2022. https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/asia/2022/08/04/china-starts-military-drills-off-taiwan-days-after-nancy-pelosis-visit/#:~:text=National%20Security%20Council%20spokesman%20John%20Kirby%20told%20reporters,%E2%80%9Cpretext%E2%80%9D%20to%20increase%20military%20activity%20in%20the%20region. 

Gan, N., Wang, S., Cheung, E., & McCarthy, S. (2022, August 3). What you need to know about Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/asia/pelosi-taiwan-visit-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html 

“Russia Views US House Speaker's Visit to Taiwan as Clear Provocation - Foreign Ministry.” TASS. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://tass.com/politics/1488339. 

Xinhua. Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee Issues statement on Pelosi's visit toTaiwan,August2,2022.https://english.www.gov.cn/news/topnews/202208/02/content_WS62e948aec6d02e533532ecb9.html. 

Lia, Zhu, and China Daily Global. “Pelosi's Expected Visit to Taiwan Spurs Protest.”      enapp.chinadaily.com.cn,August2,2022.http://enapp.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202208/02/AP62e87a95a3104446d8d1ee2d.html.