Asked about 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) upcoming trip to Taiwan and other Pacific Rim countries, 79-year-old President Joe Biden said he was told “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now,” raising questions about the trip. Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesman Zhao Lijian, known for his July 19 hyperbole, warning the U.S. about dire consequences. China views Taiwan as part of Mainland China, despite the fact that nationalists during the 1949 Maoist Revolution fled to the Island of Formosa to take refuge from Mao Zedong’s Chinese communists. Nationalist Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek beat back Communists and led a band of nationalists to Formosa. Successive generations of U.S. governments accepted the 1954 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty that obligated the U.S. to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese Communist invasion, something discussed by Beijing today.
Known for his propaganda, Lijian said that any visit by Pelosi would “seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” something so preposterous, since former President Jimmy Carter signed the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, forcing the U.S. to recognize only one China. “If the U.S. stubbornly sticks to this, China will definitely take resolute and forceful measures to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao said. Sending an officials House delegation to Taipei does nothing to recognize Taiwan’s independence from Mainland China. Biden made things worse May 23 with another of his many gaffes, saying, against generations of U.S. foreign policy, that the U.S. would defend Taiwan against the Chinese Communist invasion. Zhao said nothing about a Chinese invasion, but left Being’s response entirely ambiguous, including more menacing flyovers.
China routinely flies fighter jets into the Taiwan Strait even over parts of Taiwan to let Taipei know they’re on thin ice when it comes asserting iindependence from Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping backs Russian invasion in Ukraine, if, for no other reason, to put the U.S. on notice that it can’t dominate the Pacific Rim. Zhao’s threats prompting Biden send a warning to Pelosi’s delegation that her scheduled Taipei visit could have consequences. “It would seriously violate the one-China principle and the stipulations in the tree China-U.S. joint communiqués and harm China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao said July 19. Pelosi’s trip in August intends to visit several Pacific Rim countries, including Taipei, Singapore Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia and Tokyo, before spending some down time in Hawaii. Zhao’s threat speaks volumes about Beijing’s internal politics.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, 69, seeks another five-year-term from the Communist Politburo, looking for some reason to show he’s worth another five years. China has been warning Taipei and Washington that it wants the U.S. out of Taiwan, especially after its high-profile conflicts in Hong Kong. U.S. officials supported a pro-democracy movement in 2018 when Beijing began to crack down on Hong Kong authorities. Xi expected Hong Kong to accept that the July 1, 1997 takeover of Hong Kong from the British Crown. Beijing promised at the time to respect a “one government two systems” rule, allowing Hong to maintain its independence from Beijing. Over the last few years, Beijing put its stamp on Hong Kong, arresting pro-democracy protesters, letting the Canton population know who’s in charge. Xi wants to assert control now over the independent Island of Formosa AKA Taiwan.
U.S-Chinese relations hit a multi-generation low with the Biden White House. When 59-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser met March 18, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska with China, they accused Beijing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province, Western China. Things went from bad to worse after the Feb. 24 Ukraine War, when Biden decided to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics. Russian President Vladimir Putin showed up, agreeing to sell unlimited quantities of Russian oil to Beijing to circumvent Biden’s Russia oil embargo. Biden confronted Xi asking him to denounce Putin for his Ukraine invasion. Not only did Xi not condemn Putin he agreed with Putin’s invasion, blaming the U.S. for provoking the conflict. So when it comes to Pelosi’s visit to Taipein, it could trigger Xi to take extreme measures to protest the trip.
Pelosi finds herself caught between a rock-and-a-hard-place about changing her plans to visit Taipei. There’s nothing mandatory about the visit other than showing Taipei the kind of moral support against Beijing. With relations already at the lowest level in generations, Pelosi will likely go ahead with her trip, regardless of al of Zhao’s threats. Visiting Taipei does nothing to violate the One-China policy, other than showing that U.S. supports non-communist Taiwan as its done since the 1949 Maoist Revolution. If there’s any parallel to Ukraine, Beijing doesn’t like the U.S. supplying Taipein with sophisticated U.S. lethal weapons. Biden’s May 23 public remark that he’s inclined to defend Taipei against a Chinese invasion made matter far worse. Biden broke 70-years of strategic ambiguity with regard to the U.S. defending Taiwan. If Pelosi goes to Taipei, there could be consequences.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
