As U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to depart for a tour of Asia on Friday, her stop in Taiwan could be complicated with China threatening to shoot down her plane, according to state media.
The “Global Times” propaganda commentator Hu Xijin wrote, “If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down.”
If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down. https://t.co/V7LhrXgXoM
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) July 29, 2022
Conservative Brief quoted CNN:
Pelosi is bringing a delegation of fellow lawmakers on the visit. She has refused to answer reporters’ inquiries about her plans, saying on Wednesday in response to a question about a potential Taiwan visit, “I never talk about my travel. It’s a danger to me.”
Taiwan has emerged as a serious point of conflict between the US and China, as US officials fear a more imminent Chinese move on the self-governing island. National security officials have quietly worked to convince Pelosi of the risks her potential trip to Taiwan could pose during a highly sensitive moment.
In a lengthy and candid phone call on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a stern warning to President Joe Biden over the issue.
#China urges that #US must not arrange House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, stop official exchange with #Taiwan, and stop creating tensions over the Taiwan Straits, or China will take forceful countermeasures: Chinese Foreign Ministry pic.twitter.com/qc4Xl0fS8H
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) July 19, 2022
The Western Journal notes:
Taiwan, an island off the coast of China, became the refuge for China’s Nationalist government in 1949 after it lost the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong and the Communists.
The United States does not officially recognize Taiwan’s government but has a policy that no changes in the status quo should take place. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China has taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Taiwan, claiming that the island is rightfully a part of China and should be governed as such. That has sparked increased military maneuvers around Taiwan.
