Out-of-the-loop and no longer relevant, 76-year-old President Donald Trump squawked on his Trump Social network today, ripping 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her trip to Taiwan. “Why is Crazy Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan? Always causing trouble,” Trump wrote, saying she’s making things worse for the United States. “Nothing she does turns out well (two failed impeachments, loss of House, etc.). Watch,” Trump said on Truth Social. But for all of Pelosi final acts as House Speaker, she expressed the will of a vast majority of Democrats and Republicans to stand up for “democracy,” not allowing China to intimidate her into changing her itinerary. Pelosi’s travel to Taiwan under weeks of threats by Beijing defies China, accusing the House Speaker of violation the One China Policy, something signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
Trump’s comments, while true in one sense, invite Chinese retaliation on the U.S. and Taiwan, largely because China claims the Republic of China as a renegade territory of Mainland China. It’s ironic that no Chinese premier since Mao Zedong every threatened Taiwan the way 69-year-old Chinese President Xi Jinping and the current Chinese Communist Party does. Mao didn’t make it a priority for Mainland China to invade and occupy the Island of Formosa, where a band of anti-communist nationalists led by Chiang Kai Shek fled Mainland China in the 1949 Maoist Revolution to seek refuge on the Island of Formosa. China’s claim to Taiwan is far more tenuous than its claim on Hong Kong, far closer to Mainland China, but part of a signed agreement with Great Britain to relinquish control of Hong Kong July 1, 1997. Beijing’s claim on Taiwan is far more tenuous.
Chinese officials threatened the U.S. and Taiwan since learning of Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan. Whatever the consequences, Pelosi wasn’t about to let Beijing dictate her trip to Taipei. Even with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, replacing the 1954 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, the U.S. agreed to supply Taiwan with the weapons needed to defend the island against a possible Chinese invasion. Whatever Trump’s criticism, Pelosi did the right thing visiting Taiwan, sending a loud message to Xi Jinping that the U.S. won’t be intimidated by Chinese threats, especially when her trip doesn’t change the U.S. One China policy. Carter was wrong in 1979 agreeing to recognize only one China, largely because it gave Beijing the idea that they held sovereignty over Taiwan, when some 70 years of existence said otherwise. U.S. has supported Taiwan’s democracy since the 1949 Maoist Revolution.
Trump points out that U.S.-Chinese relations is at the worst level since the 1979 Maosit Revolution, despite having strong business ties to the Communist regime. So, when it came to Pelosi’s visit, Trump’s right that it was destabilizing influence at a time of maximum tension between Washington and Beijing. Yet Pelosi’s trip also sent a necessary message to Beijing that U.S. foreign policy can’t be influenced by coercion and intimidation. Becoming the first House Speaker to visit Taiwan since former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997, Pelosi sent a message to the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] that U.S. policy is not set by the Chinese politburo. “We cannot stand by as the [Chinese Communist Party] proceeds to threaten Taiwan—and democracy itself,” Pelsoi wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. Pelosi wanted Beijing to know that she stands up for democracy when given the chance.
Pelosi said her visit to Taiwan was necessary because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where a communist power took advantage of its weaker rival. “As Russia wages its premeditate illegal war against Ukraine, killing thousand of innocents—even children—it is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats,” Pelosi wrote. But Pelosi in making her stand known against “autocrats,” also knows that diplomacy with adversaries is a necessary part of U.S. foreign policy. As Trump points out, creating more tension at a time when the U.S. and China are ready to break in diplomatic relations also doesn’t help world peace. Pelosi can rail against autocrats and win the approval of the U.S. press but that doesn’t make the country safer from another world war. Whatever the situation in Ukraine, Pelosi should not call Beijing “autocrats,” even if it’s true.
Trump and Pelosi have a well-known vendetta going, both taking swipes at each other any time that presents. When it comes to Taiwan, the message to Xi had to be sent that the U.S. has friendship ties to Taiwan that go beyond the so-called One China Policy. Pelosi made clear to Beijing that her trip to Taiwan changes nothing when it comes to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, recognizing only Beijing as China. Trump’s dislike of Pelosi stems from her two impeachments and now House Select Committee hearings trying to tie Trump to the Jan. 6 “insurrection” that trashed the U.S. Capitol the day a Congressional Committee certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Whatever barbs go between Trump and Pelosi, there’s no question that Pelosi’s Tawian visit will have consequences for U.S.-Chinese relations going forward. Pelosi made her point but at what price?
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.
