Playing her cards close to the vest, 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) looks like she’ll visit Taiwan Tuesday, Aug. 2, defying threats from the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] which insists it violates One China Policy. One China Policy was created in 1979 when 97-year-old former President Jimmy Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act, superseding the 1954 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Carter’s treaty consummated years of business relations opened up by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon in 1972. Carter’s Taiwan Relations Act formerly established diplomatic relations with Beijing, agreeing to recognize only one China, the one in Beijing. Official U.S. policy did everything possible since the 1949 Maoist Revolution to protect Chinese nationalists, led by Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek who fled communism for the Island of Formosa.
China was too busy managing its own problems, including widespread starvation and backward modernization, to worry much about Taiwan in the early days, up until the PRC built out its Peoples Liberation Army [PLA] and navy, becoming a nuclear superpower and world’s fastest growing economy over the last 40 years. Over the last few years Chinese President Xi Jinping has been under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] to assert dominion over Taiwan, always a thorn in China’s side because of its close relations to the United States. For the past two years, China routinely sends fighter jets into the so-called Air-Defense Zone in the Taiwan Strait. Xi faces a vote by the CCP this fall for another five years in office. So, if Pelosi visits Taipei as reported tomorrow, Beijing will no doubt makes some waves, promising to not take her visit lightly.
Pelosi’s Congressional delegation now on a summer trip to Pacific Rim countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and South Korea, defied warnings about a visit to Taiwan, knowing it could be her last. Pelosi’s been a big advocate for Taiwan over the years, resisting attempts by Beijing to undermine the democratic Republic of China [ROC], a label that Taiwan proudly wears since setting up shop in Formosa in 1949. When China and its ally North Korea were languishing in the years following the Korea War, the ROC was flourishing under U.S. support as a burgeoning manufacturing hub, eventually specializing in high technology to become the world’s largest producer of commuter chips. In the early days following the Maoist Revolution, China was languishing in widespread poverty trying to develop its market economy, something resisted by Mao and his successors.
So, when it comes to visit by House Speaker Pelosi, the first visit since former House Speaker Newt Gingrich went in 1997, it’s the crowning achievement of a long career in Congress started in 1987. Pelosi’s decision to go tomorrow to Taipei against a flurry of Chinese threats shows that she’s going for posterity, a kind of capstone on her long career. “We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Foreign Minister Spokesman Zhao Lijian. Zhao was the same person who said March 13, 2000, during the growing Covid-19 crisis, that the U.S. military planted the virus in Wuhan, China. So, when it comes to bluster from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, it’s a common occurrence.
When you consider China’s recent threats, it speaks volumes about Beijing’s insecurities, demanding the U.S. abide by the One China Policy. But when you think of it, any visit to Taiwan by a U.S. official doesn’t negate the Taiwan Relations Act, requiring the U.S. to only recognize Beijing. Many U.S. elected officials visit Taipei without getting any publicity yet Pelosi’s trip has received so much attention from Beijing. “It is not uncommon for congressional leaders to travel to Taiwan,” said National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby. “We should be, as a country, we shouldn’t be intimidated by that rhetoric, or those potential actions. This is an important trip for the Speaker to be on and we’re going to do whatever we can to support her,” Kirby said. Whether that’s true or not, China could still punish Taiwan for Pelosi making the trip.
When 79-year-old President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week for over two hours, Xi told Biden to not “play with fire” when it came to Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. It’s clear that Xi, who ordinarily wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, panders to the CCP which decides in November whether or not he gets another five-year term. Taiwan’s Premier Su Tseng-Chang did not confirm Pelosi’s visit but said the Island always has its doors open. “We always warmly welcome visits to our country by distinguished foreign guests,” Tseng-Chang told reporters. Whatever the security risks to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, she received support for her visit from Democrats and Republicans. Kirby said it best that the U.S. can’t allow its foreign policy intimidated by bluster from foreign leaders. Looks today like Pelosi plans to visit Taipein tomorrow, whatever the 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.
