Pelosi pledges support to Taiwan

Tsai Ing-wen praised the visitor as one of “Taiwan’s best friends”. At the same time, she thanked Pelosi for expressing “the consistent US policy of supporting Taiwan’s self-defense.”

The President went further, symbolically presenting Pelosi with Taiwan’s highest civilian award, the “Order of the Favorable Cloud with a Special Cord.” It is given to Taiwanese officials and foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to the country. Tsai left no doubt that, in her eyes, Pelosi met that requirement

reactions from China

The leaders of the politicians were unequivocally directed against the People’s Republic of China, which sees the Republic of China on Taiwan as part of the Chinese empire. China’s leader Xi Jinping has stressed in the past that China’s renewal is not complete until Taiwan is annexed. And the communist leadership wants to achieve this by force if necessary.

And China reacted immediately: On Wednesday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army started the maneuvers around the island with target practice that had been announced for Thursday – and thus after Pelosi’s departure. The planned areas partially extend into Taiwanese territorial waters.

Even before the meeting, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized Pelosi’s trip: it seriously violates the one-China principle, maliciously violates China’s sovereignty and constitutes an overt political provocation.

It is further evidence that the US is the “troublemaker” in Sino-US relations and the “biggest destroyer” of cross-strait peace and regional stability.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs therefore announced that China would take “all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

>> Read here: China begins economic sanctions on Taiwan

Beijing has also already imposed economic sanctions to tilt the mood in the country against the government’s independent course. Some experts in the US had therefore criticized that the trip would not increase Taiwan’s security, but rather endanger it.

Taiwan relies on US support

Tsai doesn’t want to be impressed by the threatening gestures. “We will resolutely defend our nation’s sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy,” said the President. “At the same time, we want to work with all democracies in the world to protect democratic values ​​together.”

She also pledged to work to “maintain peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait and make Taiwan a “key stabilizing force” for regional security and global trade. Taiwan’s chip manufacturers are the world’s most important suppliers of high-performance chips with particularly small structures, which are used in smartphones and computers, for example.

Fulfilling their promise, however, depends on US support. They do not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan and have not recognized the country, which is officially called the “Republic of China”, as independent – like the rest of the world.

The background is the one-China policy of the People’s Republic with the seat of government in Beijing. It does not recognize Taiwan, Macao and Hong Kong as separate areas and sees itself as representing all of these Chinese regions. The US agreed in the hope of breaking China out of the communist alliance with the Soviet Union and making it an economic partner.

More articles on the Taiwan conflict:

However, Taiwan was promised under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 that the US would defend the island’s defenses against invasion threats from the communist leadership.

The United States therefore regularly supplies weapons and for a long time left it in limbo as to whether it would help Taiwan militarily against China. But the more China arms itself and threatens conquest, the more the US dissolves its policy of “strategic vagueness”. US President Joe Biden has said three times within a year that the US has an obligation to provide military assistance to Taiwan if China attacks.

Economic relations between the major powers are likely to deteriorate

This was a clear message that Biden wants to use to deter China’s leadership from invading. And Democrats Biden and Pelosi are not alone in this. On Tuesday, 26 Republican senators supported Pelosi’s visit with a joint statement. “This trip is consistent with the US one-China policy to which we are committed,” the senators wrote. “But we support all elements of the Taiwan Relations Act more than ever before.”

The clear words and gestures of US politics are likely to further deteriorate relations between the warring great powers. Taiwan, too, must adjust to the fact that China’s military and economic punishments will continue for some time. The US government is not even ruling out Chinese sanctions against US companies.

Pelosi appears to have priced in these geopolitical implications. So she took the opportunity to also meet with democracy activists, another pinprick against China’s dictatorship.

She also chose the award as a symbol. “I look forward to displaying this award at the Speaker’s Office or wearing it there at the Capitol as a symbol of our precious friendship,” she promised.

More: “Taiwan’s freedoms must be respected” – Pelosi arrived in Taipei